


Forbidden Fruit

by Fantasy_Is_My_Reality



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Slow Burn, Stalking, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:49:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 32,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasy_Is_My_Reality/pseuds/Fantasy_Is_My_Reality
Summary: You're an immortal warrior who retired to the forests near the city until the appearance of Goku Black forces you back into action. One day when you're out in West City, you crash into the infamous God and turn both your worlds upside down.





	1. The Flames of Destruction

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Y/n=Your first name.
> 
> E/c=Eye Color
> 
> H/c=Hair Color

You were immortal. A long time ago, before the Androids had even been a thought in Dr. Gero’s wicked mind, you had used the Dragon Balls to grant yourself immortality, but it had been a selfless sacrifice necessary to protect your world instead of a greedy desire that a normal human would wish. You, at that time, were Earth’s mightiest protector and were forced to defend the Earth against a horrible evil, but that being had long been defeated and was nothing compared to this new atrocity, Goku Black. Afterward, you had retired into the mountains to live a solitary life, watching the humans evolve around you while you stayed young. Over the decades, they had become more and more corrupt, making you wish for simpler times when the devastating poison of avarice did not blind nearly so many eyes. Yet, though you did not approve of the happenings of the modern world, you would have never have wished for the slaughter that followed Black like an impending hurricane. But alas, there wasn’t much you could do. You had witnessed the passing of the Androids and thought that was the end. You could not have been so wrong.

Buildings crashed around you as smoke billowed into the air like a dark clawed hand. Flames licked your ankles as you dodged the collapsing columns and screams echoed in your ear as you ran blindly in terror. In your haste to escape you didn’t notice the floating Saiyan watching your building burn, and everyone in it. He decided that he would just finish off any survivors and then return to the cabin and Zamasu. He would save Trunks for a later time.

Suddenly, the sound of soft crying barely audible over the sound of all the destruction stopped you short, reminding you what you had come back to the battlefield for in the first place. You had returned, unwillingly, from the mountains to try to save as many innocent people as possible, delivering them to safe houses and hideouts, where you had soon begun to grow popular. So, gritting your teeth, you turned back to search for the source of the sound, darting over flaming chunks of furniture and the occasional corpse. You burst through a broken door to find a small child crying on the dirty floor, underneath a window.

You let out a quiet sigh of relief and walked towards him, saying, “It’s going to be okay now.”

Unbeknownst to you, Black had noticed you, a shadowy figure through the window you were standing in front of. Grinning viciously, he shot an energy blast through the building, causing the ceiling of the room you were in to collapse, and a heavy chunk of concrete to fall. The kid let out a wail and covered his face, while you darted to crouch over him, with your arms raised above you. And for a second, nothing moved. Groaning under the effort, you managed to keep the concrete from crushing the both of you. The hard part was getting it off. Your muscles strained against your clothes and your eyes were screwed shut in concentration as the concrete finally began to move.

Black watched, astonished as you threw the massive concrete slab to the side and pulled out the child, who huddled into your chest. _What human would be strong enough?_

You let out a relieved laugh, cut short as you looked out the window and spotted him.

Goku Black.

He was even more intimidating at this distance, and his piercing onyx eyes seemed to stare into your very soul. You had frozen up in horror, and for a split second, you thought he was going to bring down the rest of the building down onto you two. The moment was broken though, as the little boy tugged on your torn shirt.

“E-excuse me? Thank you for saving me but maybe we should go...”

You smiled down at him. “Sorry kid. You’re right.”

And with that, you sprinted out of the building as fast as your legs could carry you. Panting, you made it to one of the safehouses were you knew Trunks would be, and there the boy was reunited with his parents. You watched them cry and hug each other, and soon they turned to you.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!”

“How could we ever repay you?”

It was moments like this that made risking your own hide to rescue the innocents worth it.

“It was my pleasure,” you replied. “But I have to go now before it becomes dark.”

You were met with a torrent of protests and Trunks tried to persuade you to stay like usual, but you refused. Honestly, you weren’t used to so much attention and people after having stayed in the forest by yourself so long. The closest thing to a conversation you had for so many years was one-sided talking to animals like squirrels and birds.

  
As you crept back out into the open, you prayed that you wouldn’t come face to face with Black. Luckily, the coast seemed clear for now. Hesitantly, you slowly made your way through the shadows, still wary from earlier. You could still feel those cruel eyes on you, the way they seemed to pick you apart and delve into your darkest secrets. What a creepy guy, you thought. A sudden clacking noise made you freeze in your tracks; you had kicked over a chunk of rock as you were walking, and it bounced into a large crater, the resounding echo like gunshots. You cursed yourself silently for not paying attention. The air seemed to still, and you could feel someone watching you, but you couldn’t pinpoint from where. You spun around frantically in a circle, looking for those dark eyes and spiky hair.

Black sat silently on the rooftop, smirking as he observed you panicking and breaking out into a run. The logical part of him was tempted to blast you into oblivion, after all, you were just a small, insignificant human compared to him and the rest of the universe. But on the other hand, there was something about you that stopped him from wanting to end your life, at least for now. Maybe it was the way you had stared at him, scared yet defiant, or how you somehow managed to survive a crumbling building, while protecting a child nonetheless, which was not something most other people could say. There was something mysterious about you, you were unlike any other human he had met before, and that made him want to rip you apart and dig out all your secrets that you were hiding. For one, you were definitely stronger and faster than a regular mortal, and the look in your eyes told him that you had seen much more.

He snapped out of his trance as you vanished into the forest, and it took him a split second to decide to follow you, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Zamasu could wait.

You dodged expertly around trees and over massive roots that came out of the dirt like gnarled limbs, barely making a sound. After a couple miles of running, despite which didn’t tire you as much as it would have a normal being, you came to a stop at your humble wooden cabin in a grassy clearing.

“Finally,” you huffed as you unlocked the door, completely unaware that Black had touched down on a large branch near your house.

The night was falling rapidly as Winter approached, and you quickly lit a fire in your small stone fireplace. The cabin that you lived in was sparse and wooden, filled with books and a tiny kitchen and bed. Everything was out in the open; it wasn’t like you were worried about anyone peeking in on you in the middle of nowhere. The only place that was in a separate room was a bathtub and toilet, completed with a sink. Other than the books, you had a table and some chairs, and a large poufy sofa. You didn’t have much, but you were content with what you did have. However, you did own some property in the city that Black surprisingly hadn’t destroyed, since it was on the less populated outskirts.

Black perched in the shadows of a large oak tree, looking into your house. He was, to be honest, surprised. You were different from any human that he had met before, and he had met a lot traveling around the world and committing mass genocide. He felt an unfamiliar pull towards you, wanting to learn more about you as well as seeing how far he could push you until you broke. But for now, he was just there to observe. He could always kill you any other time he wanted, after all. He watched you as you moved around the cabin, eventually settling into your couch with a book. It was clear that you were going to be there for a while, so with one last lingering look, he took off into the sky.

What an interesting human.

“So Black, did you find anything interesting in this dull world?” Zamasu asked boredly from the sofa when he returned.

“No, not really. There was this mortal though…”

“Oh?” When Black didn’t continue, he let out a little huff and turned to face him. “You know we should really hurry about the Zero Mortal plan. The humans are starting to bore me. This wasteland could really use some cleaning up. What do you think Black?”

When his partner didn’t answer he started getting annoyed. “Black!”

He snapped out of his thoughts about you. “Huh?”

Zamasu narrowed his flashing, gray eyes at him. “What are you thinking about?”

Black was hesitant to admit what he had been preoccupied with, especially when it had to do with mortals. He knew how much Zamasu loathed them, but he also knew that Zamasu would keep pestering him until he spilled the truth.

“Well…the mortal I mentioned?” He began hesitantly.

“What about it?”

“There’s something odd about it. It’s stronger than any other one I met, other than Trunks of course…I don’t know…I just can’t place the feeling.”

He could tell that Zamasu was beginning to get annoyed with all the talk about you; he was always the colder of the two. Sometimes Black began to wonder if it was Goku’s body that was turning him a bit softer.

“Well enough about the filthy insect!” Zamasu snarled at him. “Don’t you have anything else to worry about, or has that body made you weak?”

That hit a little too close to home, and he struggled to push you out of his head. _What’s happening to me?_ He thought angrily. _I’m a god for heaven’s sake!_

Zamasu stared at him for a cool minute before deciding to speak again.

“We’ll settle this another day. It’s obvious that you’re not right in the head at that moment. I’ll see you later,” he said before stalking out of the door. Black had to fight the urge to drag him back and beat him to a pulp, but the last thing he needed was a fight with his counterpart.

All he did was let out a sigh before sitting down on the couch, settling his face in his hands and tangling his finger through his hair, clutching his head. _What the Hell? What’s happening to me? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_ He roared at you in his thoughts. The glass on a nearby window shattered, and he could hear Zamasu's angry voice yelling at him from the outside. It was going to be a long night.

And in your own house, you woke up in cold sweat not even remembering why you were scared. But even in your subconscious, you could feel _him_.


	2. The Game Begins

You had slept through the night uneasily. Everywhere you turned you could see his silhouette, tall and imposing, threatening to swamp you and choke out your life. You knew he was a god, but you didn’t know if he had the power to visit dreams or control your mind. You sure as Hell hoped not. But to be honest, you wouldn’t be able to do much against him either way. He could be standing right outside your window and you wouldn’t know. And that’s what terrified you the most. _Great, I might have a stalker_ , you thought sarcastically.

You could feel it in your gut. He was there. Following closer than your own shadow, and what confused you the most was that you didn’t know what he wanted or why you. _Does he know?_

Now, you could barely walk around in the forest without swiveling your head at every little noise. Every scuttle or crunch seemed to bring your thoughts back to him. You were absolutely paranoid throughout the day. You could barely eat or rest, and around three o’ clock in the afternoon was when you finally had enough. _You’re being completely ridiculous Y/N._ He’s not there. You forced yourself out of the house and began your long trek through the woods to West City, with a couple weapons hidden inside your clothes, though you knew they would do nothing if he found you.

There was a cliff close to the border of the city, where you decided to settle down behind some large oak trees to observe the activities down below. There was nothing. You didn’t know whether to be relieved or tense; if he was down there creating havoc then you would at least know where he was, but that would mean innocent people were in peril. But on the other hand, if he wasn’t making a mess then you couldn’t pinpoint his location. Either way, you waited. And waited.

Eventually, nearly three hours had passed, and nothing had happened except a lone man had come out to get supplies and a stray dog had run past. It was nerve-wracking just crouching there, a sitting duck. You grabbed your coat and stood up, craning your neck to look at the city as you began to back away. Suddenly, your back collided into a hard tree and you stumbled a few steps forward onto your knees. You could have sworn that there hadn’t been anything there as you came.

And there wasn’t.

Your blood chilled as you figured out what it was.

_And it definitely wasn’t a tree._

_Oh god_. If only there was any other one left.

You froze, as the world stopped spinning. The birds had stopped chirping and there was nothing. The world didn’t exist. Not the trees, the people, the city. There was only fear. Your heart pounded like drums in your ears and your vision began to blur, and you waited for him to make a move, but he didn’t. You knew he couldn’t kill you, but he could definitely make you suffer. And that was the curse of immortality. Eternal living, whether you wanted it or not.

“Well,” he stated in his cold voice. “Are you going to turn around or not, little mortal?” You could hear his boots crunching as he walked towards you slowly, drawing out the anticipation. Even now, you were too petrified to turn around to face him.

He was right behind you now. Black let out a growl when you made no move to face him, and before you knew what was even happening, he had grabbed the back of your shirt and yanked you harshly to your feet, where you stood wobbling for a couple of seconds before he spun you around. And you didn’t know why, but your arm instinctively flung itself out, right at his face as you felt a rush of adrenaline.

_Well if it is going to be this way, I won’t go down a coward._

He caught it effortlessly, smirking. It was infuriating. “Someone has anger issues,” he taunted. “Let’s fix that, shall we?” He flicked his hand.

It felt like your bones were on fire as you heard a sickening _CRACK_! You had broken your arm before in fights before, but it had never felt like _this_.

_What_ the Hell was _he?_

You howled as you fell backwards, barely managing to catch yourself before you hit the ground. Red blurred your vision, and you couldn’t tell whether it was pain or anger.

“Who do you think you are?!” You yelled at him, before blasting him with your good hand. When the smoke cleared, he was just standing there looking as smug as ever, but something had changed in his eyes. If you didn’t know any better, you would say he was impressed. It was only there for a moment before it was replaced with something more sinister.

“Learn your place mortal,” he snarled. “At my feet!”

He moved too fast for you to see and immediately all you could feel was pain. It felt like a truck had hit your chest and stomach, and you could feel your leg splintering as Black assaulted you with a whirlwind of blows.

Blood spluttered out of your mouth as he rammed his fists into you, and you could only use one arm to attempt to feebly block his onslaught. Tears streamed out of your eyes, but you refused to give in. After what seemed like an eternity he finally stopped and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

You were lying on the ground on your bruised stomach, face and body swollen and beaten. You could barely see out of your eyes and agony coursed through your body like lightning. As he gazed down at you, something pricked at his heart. Something he had never felt before. Was it guilt? Pity?

“What’s going on?” He grumbled under his breath, scrubbing his face with his hands. Black shook his head violently, his wild hair tossing about.

“Damn you!” He screamed, and you could feel your ribs crack as he drove a foot into your back, and you let out an involuntary wail. He backed up, watching you carefully as you lay there panting but refusing to give up. You forced your bloodshot eyes open to glare at him with as much hatred as you could possibly muster.

“I-I’ve seen m-men like…. you.” You took a breath and forced yourself to continue despite the pain in your jaw. “Y-you kill a-and kill…. but the-re will a-always be s-someone….to s-stop you.”

Black’s eyes widened in surprise. No human had ever dared speak to him that way, save Trunks. But he wasn’t exactly human, was he? Whatever, it didn’t matter either way. All that was important was the Zero Mortal Plan, and he couldn’t spare anyone, not even you.

“I am no man you foolish mortal. You understand nothing. Nothing about the universe. You’re all just greedy, selfish creatures that destroy this utopia that could have been. And I am just here to punish all your mistakes.” Black spat. “There are no men like me!”

You stared up at him, eyes unwavering, and you had never been so sure of anything in your entire life. “T-there will always…b-be someone like y-you.”  
And your world went black.

***

When you woke up again, you were still on the floor, in a pool of your own blood. The wounds that would have killed you had healed, but the rest hadn’t. Luckily, you always healed faster than normal humans, so you wouldn’t have to wait as long as you could have. But man, it still hurt like a bitch. Every breath felt like knives stabbing into your lungs, and it felt like your arms and legs had been crushed by a steamroller.

Groaning, you tried to get up onto your feet. Big mistake. Blood dribbled out of your mouth and you flopped back down, completely and utterly helpless, whimpers escaping through your cut lips. Hot tears of fury and confusion leaked out of your eyes as you began to sob.

_Why me? Why did he have to choose me? But more importantly, why did he **spare me**?_

And that was exactly what Goku Black had been wondering.


	3. Blink of an Eye

After that last disastrous encounter with Black, you were forced to drag your broken body a couple of miles back to your cabin, which was no easy feat considering only one arm and one leg worked. It took you a nearly a month to fully heal, during which you were forced to hide away in your house, haunted by constant nightmares so real that you could still feel his fingertips when you woke. Wisps of dense air that brushed across your face and surrounded your neck, squeezing lightly as you slept. You weren’t the only one that was affected though, Black found himself constantly watching. If there was nothing to do, then he was there. It was like a moth drawn to fire, even though it knows the destruction that the warmth could bring, yet it still comes. Every. Damn. Time.

And it was absolutely infuriating.

Black sat in the boughs of the large oak tree directly outside your window, far enough so that you wouldn’t be able to see him but close enough for him to be able to see you clearly through the transparent glass. You haven’t done anything interesting in a month and he half wished that he hadn’t injured you so grievously, so you could at least do something other than eat and sleep. It was almost comical how the man who had slaughtered billions was now sitting cross-legged outside your window, staring at you lazily as you moved sluggishly around your tiny area, almost as if you were teasing him. But as far as he knew, you had zero idea that a psychotic, bipolar serial killer was less than one hundred feet away from you for hours every day. He tapped his fingers lightly against his white boots as he imagined your reaction if you found out, how you would probably make that adorable squeaking sound you made every time you were startled, or how you would freeze up with your beautiful eyes blown wide when you were paranoid or frightened.

_Wait, what? Adorable? Beautiful? What’s wrong with me? I don’t even know her name! I can’t be falling for that stupid mortal!_

The branch he had been clutching snapped under the pressure, and he cursed silently under his breath as you whipped your head around. He scrambled backwards into denser leaves as you scanned the area, your gaze lingering on his previous position. After a good 5 minutes of looking around, you shrugged and went back to making breakfast, but he could tell from the hunch in your shoulders that you were anxious. That had been too close.

_I’d better go before I completely lose it._

The Saiyan quickly descended into the sky, soaring around for a while before heading back to West City. Perhaps Trunks would help him take his mind off of you, but even that half-breed was beginning to bore him. Oh well, there wasn’t like there was much else to do, and he just wanted to get as far away from you as possible. Agitated, he touched down on top of a desolate building, a couple meters away from Trunks little hideout. As if that could escape a god like him, he scoffed.

Still, that blue-haired teenager was the closest thing to a rival he had on this miserable planet. He would have to do for now. Heavy, gray storm clouds gathered above him, the unmistakable scent of rain flooding his nose, and he glowered at the sky as if it had personally offended him.

_I’d better hurry._

Gracefully, he took a flying leap from the roof and landed right on top of where he could sense the puny mortals clustered together in a group.

_Honestly, there’s no point in hiding them if I could sense them. I can see them like a lighthouse in the darkness._

He almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. They still struggled to survive when they knew deep down that there was no way out, and they knew that they deserved it. Given a few more years and he wouldn’t even have to clean them up, they could just kill each other as their technology advanced. But it was too much fun crushing their necks and hearing that gargled screams of theirs than sitting back in the sidelines. No, he had to do this. The humans had a chance to live peacefully, and they threw it all away. He was just their punishment that he himself a god had sent down.

White boots clicked faintly as he walked back and forth across the ground, and he could feel their _chi_ changing as panic set in. He could hear them scuttling around like bugs. Through the mass of energy, he didn’t even notice that one was missing. Black completely forgot that Trunks could suppress it at will, and it was all because of you. Blame it on the nerves.

“BLACK!” A voice bellowed, and a hard blast blew Black off his feet and he tumbled face first into a pile of rubble, a crack of lightning splitting the air. Without giving him any time to recover, Trunks threw blast after blast after at his opponent, glowing blue light brightening up the sky like fireworks. The ground shuddered from their blows and down below the humans shuddered, praying that their savior would emerge victorious. And even from your cabin miles away you could hear the commotion, and you debated whether or not you should go. It sounded pretty serious and you were still somewhat weak, your arm having just healed. But you would never leave a friend to fend for them self, especially not Trunks. The world needed him.

Grunting in annoyance, you grabbed a dagger and your coat, leaped into your shoes and sprinted out of your door, hitting your shoulder on the frame in the process.

“Great,” you groaned, as you nearly tripped over a stump, but you didn’t stop running. You hadn’t been outside for weeks, and upon reflection maybe charging into a battle that was way out of your league while you were still recovering wasn’t your brightest idea. Too late now. After a couple minutes of cardio, you were close enough to feel the ground trembling from their fight. You peered through the trees on the outcrop where he had ambushed you, the memory still sending chills down your spine. A fearsome super Saiyan Trunks was being pounded to a pulp by the fake Goku, who then delivered a devastating blow to his stomach, sending the teenager flying into the ground. You held back the urge to just charge into the battle; getting yourself killed wasn’t going to help anyone.

Black dived down like a rocket, his dark purple aura blazing around him like a massive halo aiming right at Trunks’ prone body. Even then, you couldn’t help but admire his sheer power, even if it was stolen. Just as he was about to make impact, Trunks shoved himself out of the way, and Black was too close to stop, his body sending massive hunks of rock flying everywhere. You nearly had a heart attack as one went hurling a hair length away from your head, breaking the trees in half behind you.

At this rate there wasn’t going to an Earth left to defend. Everything was quiet for a moment as your friend stood a little distance away from the pile of boulders, wheezing from the exertion. Without warning, beams of violet light shot from beneath the earth, scattering the clouds and you could hear a deafening howl that was Goku Black’s voice.

He shot from the rubble faster than you could see, and the only indication of anything happening was when Trunks keeled over, his eyes wide and blank as his golden glow disappeared. For a terrifying second you thought he was dead as Black stood over his body like the Grim Reaper, barely seeming to break a sweat through the whole ordeal. He raised his hand and you readied yourself to leap in and stop him.

“Black.” You heard a new voice call. The Saiyan turned his head to stare at the what seemed like a weird floating goblin man with spiky white hair, completed with forbidding silver eyes. You hadn’t even noticed him the entire time. Or maybe he hadn’t been there? Now that you realized, they were wearing similar clothing, and Black did seem familiar with him. Mostly on the fact that he didn’t immediately try to kill him.

“Zamasu,” he replied coolly. “What are you doing here?”

_Zamasu is certainly an unusual name._

“I was just checking on you. You’ve been…. odd lately.” The newcomer narrowed his eyes. “And I see you’ve disposed of Trunks for now.”

“For now.” Black concluded, and you let out a sigh of relief, crouching back down. He was letting Trunks go.

The green alien touched down and walked over to the unconscious boy, nudging him with the toe of his boot. Zamasu paused for a second, and his face twisted in a grin.

“And it seems like he’s the only one who needs disposing of.” Your stomach clenched, and you could feel sweat pooling at your collarbones. His grin grew wider and you could see Black tensing his shoulders.

They both turned, and their eyes were locked on you.

_Oh no._


	4. Cat out of the Bag

Your first instinct was to run, but you couldn’t even if you wanted to. Your feet felt like cement, and you were certain that your heart had just stopped beating for a couple of seconds. Black stared at you with those dark obsidian eyes, and for once you wished that he could just kill you. You were almost certain that whatever they were going to do with you was worse than death, and glancing at Zamasu’s heartless eyes definitely did not reassure you.

_Why couldn’t have I just stayed away?_

You blinked, and the new god had disappeared. You could feel a whoosh of air behind you and you didn’t even have time to turn around when you felt someone grab the back of your coat. It was Zamasu. He moved his hand up to the back of your neck in a vice grip that had black spots swimming in your vision, and suddenly your feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. The wind whipped against your face as he brought you to Black. You didn’t even have a chance to be scared before he released you, about seven feet above the ground and you land in a whimpering heap in front of Goku Black, who stared down at you impassively. A foot was planted in your back that had you gasping for air, and you could hear Zamasu’s low rumble.

“So Black, is this the mortal you had been going on about?”

Black fought back the heat creeping up his neck; Zamasu had always been so blunt. But since when had he cared? Now, apparently. Irritation boiled in the pit of his stomach as contemplated what his stolen body was doing to him. _Damn Son Goku! It was supposed to make me stronger, not weaker!_

His partner raised an elegant white eyebrow at him.

“Of course, that’s her.”

You whined as the pressure increased before it was suddenly gone, and you felt rough hands manhandle you into a standing position. You never really realized how tall the alien was until you were standing in front of him. Zamasu grabbed your jaw and pressed the sides of your jaw until they open while you tried to shrink back, and he peered inside like a dentist studying a patient. Once he was thoroughly satisfied with his examination, he grasped your hand and looked at it, before critically inspecting the rest of your body. Everywhere his fingers touched bruises followed in their wake. It felt like you were on the verge of a mental breakdown.

He came up with a frown. “There’s nothing special about her other than some extra muscle, though her _chi_ does feel a bit different.”

You hadn’t said a single word through the whole ordeal, and you prayed that Trunks had made it back to safety. You had never met Zamasu before and you didn’t want to set him off by accident, having seen the way Black would randomly go berserk in a fit of violence.

“Well?” The question caught you off guard. “What’s so special about you? Why would my other half be so obsessed with an ant like you?” Zamasu didn’t look like he was about to attack you, at least not at that moment, but you were still too scared to answer.

A sudden agonizing blow stung your cheek, so hard that it forced a couple drops of salty tears out of your eyes, and you dropped like a rock onto the ground. You’d be lucky if you didn’t get whiplash later. He proceeded to slam his heel into your ribs and there was an echoing snap, agony exploding in your flesh like fire. Yep, he was just like Black. _Shit._

“When I ask you a question you answer, you filthy mortal!” You lay on the ground shivering in dread, suppressing your sobs as you cradled your cheek. Maybe if it was only Goku Black then you would at least attempt to escape or fight your way out, but with Zamasu there too then would be no escape. You hadn’t been eating or sleeping well for nearly a month, which lowered your chances even further. Whatever spell Black had put on you that day was slowly killing you, tearing away at your mind and body.

_How much worse could it possibly get?_

“Wait a second,” Black interjected. “She’s human. I nearly destroyed her last time I saw her a little less than a month ago, how is she even here?” _Had I really not noticed anything after nearly a month?_

“And? You just realized this?” Zamasu exclaimed, staring at him incredulously. “What, does she have accelerated healing or something? A month is a really long time to heal from a couple of broken bones compared to some of the warriors I’ve seen, but then her species is much weaker.”

_Oh please no this is not happening right now._ You were beginning to panic just listening to their conversation. If anyone could recognize an immortal, it would be a God. It would only be a matter of time before they pieced it all together. Unfurling from your fetal position, you tried to crawl away slowly, hoping that they wouldn’t notice even though you knew that would probably wouldn’t happen in a million years. Black stopped bickering and glanced down at you, planting a boot on your ankle to halt your meager attempt at a getaway. Hey, it was worth a try if they were going to torture you all the way to Hell.

He stared at your back for a hard second. “I swore I should have killed you. I’m pretty sure I broke your back and punctured a lung.” He still didn’t have perfect control over Goku’s body, and often times he forgot what it could do. Sometimes he would grab someone and they would drop dead in his hands, and he wouldn’t even notice until he looked down and saw their cloudy eyes and jutting bones. It was a real nuisance sometimes. Black had lost count of the number of glass cups he had crushed back at the cabin.

“How is she still alive then?” Zamasu demanded, kicking you hard in the hip, forcing a cry out of your bleeding mouth. He seized your hair pulling up as you tried to resist, and you fell flat on your face as he unexpectedly let go. A blue blur flew past you vision tackling Zamasu, shouting your name.

“Y/N go! I’ll hold them off!” It was Trunks. You scrambled up, torn between fleeing for your life or to stay and fight. “GO!” He urged as Black joined the brawl. They had forgotten about you momentarily, and you could see the forest a couple meters away. You could make it if you ran. But the few seconds that you had spent contemplating were completely wasted as tragedy struck your friend.

A grisly ripping and squelching sound caught your attention, and you paled in dismay as you saw a colorful energy sword protruding from your friend’s back. Crimson streams of liquid stained his blue jacket as Black wrenched out his arm, grinning like a madman. Bile rose up into your throat as you watched the Saiyan fall onto the ground, immobile. A soft poof of dust rose up as his body made contact with the dirty concrete, and you could already see the tears running down Mai’s face if Trunks died. Then it would all be for nothing.

“It seems that your time is finally up, hero. It was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time to say goodnight,” Black announced victoriously, a murderous glint in his eye.

You rushed towards them without thinking, using the last bit of your strength to propel your forward. Time seemed to slow as Black raised his hand once again, preparing to land the final strike.

But it never landed. At least, not on the intended target. You didn’t know what was happening until you saw his onyx eyes widen in bewilderment and terror. The pain didn’t hit you at first and you looked down in confusion, and it came full force like a massive truck. His hand had gone straight through your heart and out the other side, blood gushing out of your body like a fountain. Black frantically stepped back removing his arm, and you fell forward against him, his terrified face the last thing you saw before darkness swamped your vision.


	5. The Room

You could see light through your eyelids, but they refused to open. The sunlight was almost painful, making your headache worse. Your entire body felt like it had been tossed down a cliff in a barrel full of rocks, and you let out a soft groan. It had always hurt when your body healed after supposedly being “killed”, but this definitely took the spot of number one bitch. A small creak next to you caught your attention, followed by light footsteps that sounded like it was getting nearer and nearer.

  
You began to struggle to make your body move, but every tiny movement felt like a white-hot knife digging into your flesh. It felt like something was sucking up your energy, and when you finally managed to pry open an eyelid and look down you realized why. Light magenta-colored bands trapped your wrists and ankles to what looked like long ropes made out of the same material, attached to four rings on the hard wall. Exhaustion swamped your entire body like a heavy fog, threatening to push you back under into nothingness, but you refused to go back. It was difficult just to keep an eye open. You managed to lift up your head, neck creaking in protest, and immediately wished you hadn’t. His face was only about a foot apart from yours, albeit a little blurry, but you had no problem seeing those intense black eyes boring holes into your pounding skull. You would have screamed if you could, and Black seemed to sense that he was frightening you and he took a quick step away, nearly backing right into Zamasu as he too entered the room. This newly added presence didn’t help. For some reason, Zamasu has always intimidated you more than Black even though you had never even seen him fight, and he appeared to weaker than his friend. Something about him told you if it was him that you had run into in the woods about a month ago you would have not made it out with just those broken bones and internal bleeding that Black had left you.

  
His aura felt darker than Black’s, and your instincts had never been wrong before. He was just so……blank. At least Black laughed and smirked, even if it was when he was disemboweling someone. But Zamasu on the other hand, never seemed to change his expression like Black did, even when he was beating the living shit out of you his face showed no signs of any emotion. He just peered at you next to Black, as if calculating your next move.

  
Black stepped forward and you shrank back against the wall that you were trapped in, on the verge of hyperventilating. Your entire body ached badly, the numerous wounds still raw and open. As your eyes adjusted a bit, you could see a single small window the length of your arm on the barren wall opposite to the door, and there was nothing in the room except a chair and a blanket. It looked too close to a prison for comfort. Not that you had any personal experience or anything. Black watched you for a while, silent and immovable as he always was, giving you a bit of time for your slow human mind to figure out what was going on.

  
“Are you a god?” Zamasu suddenly asked. His voice sounded like he was talking through a microphone and your forehead gave another painful throb.

  
The question caught you off guard, and you wanted to keep your mouth shut but your throbbing ribs was an all too good of a reminder of what happened if you upset him.

  
“Uh no? S-sir?” You stammered.

  
He narrowed his eyes at you, and you had the odd feeling that he was x-raying you, yet Black hadn’t said a word through the whole ordeal.

  
“Then why are you immortal?” Zamasu questioned again.

  
“I um used the Dragon Balls a long time ago to grant myself immortality to defend the earth,” you mumbled quietly.

  
Black seemed to perk up at that statement. “Dragon Balls? Those orange orbs with the red stars?”

  
“The ones we destroyed a while back after granting you immortality,” Zamasu confirmed.

  
Your heart sunk down to your empty stomach. If the Dragon Balls were gone then the only choice would be to go back to the past. And immortal? _How the hell are we supposed to kill him now?_ It was so much worse than you had previously thought, and you could only pray that Trunks was currently going back in the past to bring back the warriors he had always gone on about. But right now, you were more concerned about what was going to happen to _you_. You were completely cornered and weak, and most likely going to spend the rest of your miserable life in imprisonment.

  
Fortunately, the pair seemed more interested in verbally harassing you than physically harming you, though you didn’t know how much longer that would last. They eventually left you to your thoughts, and you had more time to observe the room and try to think up of an escape plan. The walls, floors, and ceiling all looked pretty solid, so it was either the door or the window. The door had sounded pretty heavy as they closed it and it was reinforced with multiple locks, so probably not an option. Even if you could manage to break down the door, which was highly improbable in the first place, you doubted running out the door and straight into the two murderers would do much good. The window seemed too small but once your body healed you might have a chance of shattering the glass and blasting a bigger opening.

  
As you continued scanning the room, you noticed that there was something else. You had been too absorbed with Black and Zamasu previously to notice a pitcher of water and something that looked like mashed potatoes, cheese, and bread on a small wooden stand near the door. They must have left it when they came in.

  
A growl caught your attention, and you realized that it was coming from your own stomach. You hadn’t noticed the aroma of the food before; it was mouth-watering, especially considering you hadn’t eaten in at least a day. Your brain disagreed, however, debating with your stomach on the likeliness of getting poisoned and the feeling of something other than air in your intestines. Your empty stomach won in the end, and you awkwardly shuffled over and shoveled everything on the plate down. You drank the entire pitcher of water in a couple gulps, nearly choking in the process.

  
Your brain had been right about one thing though. Goku Black had added something in the liquid. Notably not poison. Figuring that you probably wouldn’t take some pills that your captors left on the tray, he took the liberty of grounding them up and sprinkling them in your water. He hadn’t even thought about it, it seemed that his body had done it on its own accord because he didn’t even realize it until it was done. It was just the sight of your mangled body and the sound of your innocent weeping seemed to tug at his heartstrings. God you played him like a violin, and you didn’t even have to lift a finger.

  
His sympathy didn’t always last long though. Sometimes he just thought about going down to your room underneath the cabin and strangling you until your neck snapped just to be done with it, but being immortal was a complication. Or maybe rip your beating heart out of your chest. That was one of his personal favorites. But he couldn’t just slaughter you. Now that you were here where Black wanted you he was completely at loss with what to do with you. Zamasu seemed to secretly know it too, though he never directly commented on it. But he could tell that his other self didn’t approve with the subtle frowns Zamasu gave him occasionally. Funny wasn’t it, how they were the same mind, but their hearts and bodies had drifted so far apart.

  
It had only been three days since you had arrived at what you assumed was their hideout, and you were already going insane with boredom. Your body had mostly recovered but you knew it was going to take a much longer time for the mental scars to heal over, but you had an eternity after all. The only contact you would get would be when Black or Zamasu came down a couple times a day to take you to the bathroom or leave you meals. Usually it was Black who would take you, but you were pretty sure that Zamasu was the one leaving you the food since it just seemed to appear on the stand whenever you weren't paying attention.

  
Every time Black came down to lead you to a separate lavatory he would untie the pink ropes and take you up the stairs into the main living room, which was extremely well furnished considering it was inhabited by two genocidal serial killers. It was filled with two armchairs, a coffee table in front of a fireplace, and three large bookshelves full to the brim. There was a bathroom pretty close to their kitchen, and you soon learned that Black would pound on the door if he thought you were taking too long. Somehow, he was able to scavenge clothes exactly your size from the city on the second day of your capture, so you didn’t have to wear those ripped up rags anymore. But he always took you back down to the basement where you would spend the rest of the day sleeping wrapped up in the blue blanket on the floor, pacing around in circles, or looking out the window. The only thing you could ever see was tall, evergreen trees and the occasional forest critter, no sign of the tell-tale blue hair of your Saiyan friend. 

You tried to not feel betrayed. Trunks did have to take care of nearly a hundred other survivors after all, but some days it managed to creep up on you. Then other days shame would visit you in your captivity. Shame at being so helpless and actually looking forward to when Black visited so you wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. Anger usually followed closely behind. Anger at everything, the world, the damn room, the gods, Trunks, Zamasu, and most of all Goku Black. Sometimes you would scream yourself hoarse and slam your fists against the door, trying to get their attention and cursing at them. If they heard the commotion you made they gave no indication.

The door remained closed. 


	6. Chained Freedom

Black finally let you out of the room on the eighth day. Well, not exactly. He just let you explore the upstairs with the ever-present chi bands on your ankles and wrists while he followed behind you a good 25ft. You walked around slowly, peering at everything, searching for clues on how to defeat them, but you had to make it subtle, so he wouldn’t suspect anything. You had been ecstatic when Black had walked in and announced that he would let you out for a while, but still wary of what might happen. He was rougher than Zamasu and sometimes his grip would leave colorful bruises all along your body when you set him off. One day he could be short-tempered, and his mood could change as easily as flicking a switch, and others he could be more tolerant and polite and even go as far as complimenting you.

Black probably should have alerted Zamasu about your new freedom beforehand though. The moment he saw you going to a place other than the bathroom even with Black trailing behind you he immediately seized you by your throat and forced your feet off the ground. His brutal fingers left dark bruises on your throat and you could feel your bones creaking, on the verge of splintering. You were almost completely immobile and unable to do anything but gasp for breath, your e/c eyes wild.

“Where the Hell do you think you’re going?!” Zamasu snarled in your face, but you could only let out a gargled response as your fingers groped uselessly at his arm.

“Zamasu no! I let her out!” Black surged forward to try to get him to release you, which he did. Unfortunately, a couple of feet above the ground. You never realized how tall the green God actually was. He just looked short standing next to Black. A sharp pain shot up your ankle as you landed feet first, and then you crumpled like a house of cards. _Son of a bitch!_

You scurried backwards away from both of them, mood dampened from Zamasus’ assault. When neither of them did anything to stop you from backing up, you scrambled to your feet and took off in the opposite direction weaving through the halls. Black’s voiced carried through the cabin, he sounded incensed but thankfully it wasn’t at you for running away. Chances were it wouldn’t be hard for him to find you, so he probably didn’t care much anyways. Trunks had been planning to teach you how to hide your _chi_ but sadly never got the chance, and now probably never will. Your heart ached as you thought about him, and then Mai and the rest of the survivors. _What would they do without you?_ They had Trunks and Mai but Trunks had left to go to the past, and as strong as Mai was, she was nothing compared to you and Trunks.

Tears blurred your vision as everything hit you again and again in waves of anguish. Hurriedly you burst through the first door you could and slammed it shut, locking it and pushing a chair under the doorknob, knowing fully that it wouldn’t stop Black from entering if he wanted to. You didn’t want to be caught by either of them in the hallway bawling your eyes out.

Your entire body trembled as your chest contracted with sobs, and at that moment you didn’t care anymore. You didn’t care if Black heard you or what he was planning to do to you. The world faded and became nothing. Nothing but the hot rivers flowing down your cheeks and the pressure in your chest as your lungs struggled to pull in air. You collapsed on the bed, hands fisting the sheets underneath you so hard your knuckles turned white, nearly tearing them but you didn’t care. Black could do whatever the fuck he wanted to you. It’s not like you could even do anything to stop him anyways. Maybe that’s what they were doing, to make you feel as small and insignificant and as helpless as you possibly could, but why? You were no threat to their plan except for the fact that they couldn’t kill you, making the zero human idea impossible.

A soft knock interrupted your thoughts, and you involuntary cringed away from the noise. You felt completely bare and weak, and the last thing you wanted was for your captor to see you. Another knock echoed through the still room, a little bit harder this time.

“Y/N open the door.” You heard his muffled voice through the door. You made no movement towards it and shrunk back a little more, now pressed against the wall. Black let out a sigh on the other side and the only warning you got as he materialized inside the room was a soft whooshing sound. You let out a yelp and accidentally rammed your head into the wall so hard that the blow dented it.

Black tilted his head, looking curiously at you, and you were suddenly reminded of a cute dog that you once had, except with black hair and dark eyes. The light shone favorably across his tan features and in that moment, you couldn’t possibly comprehend how he could have done the things he did. He just looked so…. innocent, for lack of a better word. _How could he have killed billions? And why the Hell am I thinking like this? He’s killing everyone!_

“What are you doing in my room?” He asked softly, as if you were a broken, frightened animal that didn’t know what to do.

_Wait, his room?_  The tears had stopped flowing for the time being, and now that they did all the shapes seemed much sharper and clearer. Honestly, you had not expected his room to be so clean and organized. It wasn’t dark or messy as you originally thought it would be, but it wasn’t overcrowded either. There was a large bed and some windows, and some large bookcases choking with books and everything you would find in a normal room, just a little bit fancier. _Wow, the genocidal murderer does interior decorating,_ you almost laughed at the thought of it. Something so trivial as the ordinary contents of the room had been blotted out by the absurdity of it all. But he was no ordinary man, was he? Hell, he wasn’t even a man. A couple centuries ago you would never have thought you would end up here, being kidnapped by two psychopaths and then even growing to admire their living quarters. _I’m completely losing it._

You were drawn back to reality by a cough as Black kept staring at you. It was getting just a little bit creepy, and rightly so. This was the God or Saiyan or whatever the fuck he was, who had pillaged and massacred everyone you had given up so much to protect, and you were just sitting there. Doing absolutely nothing. What type of hero were you? The thought of the look on everyone’s face if they knew what you were doing flooded your entire body with shame, and suddenly you were overwhelmed by fury, burning, red-hot, righteous fury that made your lungs burn. It fought for dominance against the rising tide of hopelessness and despair, and everything else you had kept bottled up for over a week, and it all came spilling over into a single question.

“Why are you doing this?!” You shouted and half cried in his face, and he seemed taken aback a bit before his eyes hardened like frigid chips of ice.

“Learn your place, you ungrateful human!” He snarled. “I don’t have to justify anything to you!”

The blow hit you before you even saw the movement, and your head snapped to the right. The pain took a couple seconds to set in, but when it did you wished it hadn’t. It felt like someone had decided to hit you with heavy sledgehammer. You hadn’t even noticed you’d been crying again, and God you hated it. You hadn’t cried in so long up until today, but there hadn’t been a need to.

He hadn’t meant to strike you that hard really, sometimes he just forgot Son Goku's strength and how fragile humans could be. At the sight of your weeping Black was unsure what to do. Usually if his victims cried or begged he would just rip their heads off or snap their necks. It was pitiful how the weak sniveled before their death, as if that would make it any better. But for some reason when you cried, as he had often heard you outside the basement, he just wanted to make you stop, whatever it took, whether it was to slash out your throat or cuddle you against his chest. To his bewilderment, he preferred the latter. _It would be a terrible shame to deprive the universe of such a powerful fighter,_ he argued with himself.

If he was really honest with himself, he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do with you. Whatever it was, it would have to be done soon. Trunks would most definitely come snooping for you, wherever the fuck that half-breed was. Maybe Black would even let you live to see his paradise, but he doubted Zamasu would allow that. He wasn’t even sure whether or not he wanted you there, his heart quarreled constantly with his brain.

_Fuck, I’m being torn apart._

The God pressed the heels of his hands against his eyelids, shaking his mop of unruly hair. He really couldn’t take the noise of your sobbing anymore, and it seemed to intensify the ever-present headache he got whenever he was around you.

“SHUT UP!” He roared, “JUST SHUT UP!”

Without warning, his hair flared pink and the sudden transformation managed to quiet you down, and you stared in awe and trepidation. You had never seen that happen before. Trunks had made a similar transformation, but this seemed different, more regal and imposing, yet enchanting at the same time. Black huffed and turned away from you, desperately trying to gather his thoughts and calm his body.

“That’s beautiful,” he heard you whisper faintly.

“What?”

You had no idea why you said it, but it seemed like you didn’t have much control over your body nowadays anyways.

“Can you please turn around so I can see you?” You asked timidly.

He did as you asked and watched you surprised but proud as you hesitantly stepped closer to him, leaning up on the tips of your toes to look more closely at his hair. The spiky strands were a lighter shade of the cuffs on your limbs, but to you they were gorgeous. It was such a raw and gentle color, so new yet pleasant on his features. You were standing so close to him that he could smell the tantalizing scent of your shampoo, despite being kept down below the cabin for eight days, andhe feel your warm breath on his cheek. Every little detail of your face was bare to him, and it was perfect. For once in his entire life he felt as if he was in paradise, and Black didn’t want more. You were there, and that was good enough.

But like all good things that have to go, so did that moment. Your fingertips were an inch away from one of his bangs and he was leaning into the crook of your neck, nose so close to your skin…. Until Zamasu strolled in.

“Black,” he stated as if nothing was happening. “The monkey’s back.”

His lip curled upwards. “And it looks like he brought some friends.”


	7. The Calvary Arrives

Black and Zamasu had immediately flown off to meet Trunks, leaving you alone in the cabin. You waited until they were nothing but dots in the horizon before sprinting about the house checking all the windows and doors, but they were all locked. You threw a chair at one of the windows, but it did absolutely nothing, confirming your suspicion that they had discreetly strengthened it with magic before they left. It was agonizing, your freedom was so close yet so far.

You tried all the closed doors, but they too were locked and impenetrable. Eventually, after breaking two chairs and a knife you let them clatter to the floor and sat in the armchair in the living room, with your head in your hands. It just wasn’t fair. Once again, you were engulfed by a crushing sense of helplessness and frustration as the gravity of your situation gradually tightened the noose.

Just as you were about to start crying again, a light tapping sound came from the window near the kitchen. Cautiously, you moved towards the source of the sound and hesitantly looked over the edge of the windowsill, and nearly had an aneurysm. It was Black, with his face pressed so close to the glass that you could every tiny detail of his nose. You screamed shrilly and tripped backwards as he rose up outside, so you could see his very unusual gi. _Had he changed his clothes?_ And then it hit you. That must have been Son Goku, who looked nearly identical to Black as Trunks had once told you. Still, it was unnerving to see someone who looked like Black’s twin. And it was even weird when he smiled sheepishly at you and rubbed the back of his head, mouthing something inaudible to you. You had never really seen Black smile like that, or anyone on this earth since his arrival as a matter of fact. He hovered near the window and placed his hands on it, pushing at it but it still wouldn’t give.

“Uh hi?” You said loudly, hoping he would be able to hear you.

Luckily, he did. “Hi I’m Son Goku! Trunks told me that Black kidnapped you, so he sent me here to rescue you,” he replied, still smiling. “Why can’t I get through the window?”

“I t-think they magically enhanced it or something before they left.”

“Oh okay, that’s no problem, I think I can still get in.”

You had just opened your mouth to ask him how, but you didn’t get the chance before he unexpectedly appeared in front of you just like Black had. You let out an involuntary shriek and kicked him in the shin, your heart leaping into your throat.

“Oh my God you people are absolutely insane!” You panted as you concentrated not losing your mind.

He grinned at you apologetically and reached out a hand, from which you flinched away. “Sorry, I guess most people aren’t used to that.”

Now that he was standing in front of you, you could see subtle differences between him and Black. For one, he dressed the complete opposite of Black and appeared to be a bit more muscular. Goku was also less tan and there was a different glint in his eye, a pleasant shine that said ‘I’ll kill you with ice cream and sunshine’ instead of Black, who gave off a vibe of ‘I’ll kill you by disemboweling you and then feeding you your entrails’. Still, even with the small differences you still couldn’t help but be wary of him. _But I guess if Trunks trusts him so should I,_ you reasoned with yourself.

You suddenly remembered your blue-haired friend. “Oh uh Mr. Goku sir how’s Trunks?” You stuttered nervously.  _Please let him be okay._

“Please, you can just call me Goku Y/n, and Trunks if fine, he’s with Vegeta.” He beamed at you, all teeth and gums and you found your own lips quirking up a bit. You could see why Trunks liked him so much, his positivity was infectious. It was a pleasant change for once. He seemed to just notice the bands around your ankles and wrists, frowning at them.

“What are those?” He asked, brushing his finger against one, jerking away from it as it let out a sharp zap.

“I’m not really sure Goku,” you replied. “I can’t seem to get them off.”

“Here, let me try.” You gave him your arm, watching as he flared his _chi_ and gripped the bands tightly, and after some straining they cracked and shattered to the ground. Goku did the same to the rest of them, and you rubbed your wrists thanking him.

“It was no problem. Speaking of which, we should probably get you back to Trunks and Vegeta. Grab my arm.” He held it out for you.

“What why?”

“You’ll see, just please don’t scream, we don’t want for Black to know that you’re there,” he answered, giving you a reassuring look. “Trust me.”

You looked into his eyes, and after finding nothing malicious you gave a small nod and touched his arm.

“Okay now w-” The rest of your sentence was cut off as the ground suddenly changed beneath your feet, along with the rest of the scenery. You were back in West City, the familiar scent of dank death and musty decay flooding your nose. Burning embers danced around your face and up above the gray storm clouds rioted and raged, the wind howling like wolves. The fallen city looked the same as always, the buildings rising from the ground like skeletons and the earth all churned up and wounded. Brilliant flashes from the distance caught your eye, streaks of bright yellow, blue, pink, and purple. Distinctly, you were able to recognize Trunks as a blazing Super Saiyan, charging with all his might towards Black, in his regular form who was laughing in glee. Zamasu was battling with a warrior you had never seen before, with tall, flame-shaped blue hair and a tight cobalt-colored spandex suit. Based on Trunks’ description of his father you guess that it was Vegeta, the legendary Saiyan who had turned his back on evil. Lightning split the sky as they clashed, energy balls flying everywhere and destroying everything that they came in contact with. A golden one whizzed over your head and blew up a car ten feet behind you, and the black-haired Saiyan next to you quickly ushered you behind a standing chunk of concrete.

“Stay right here Y/n, we’ll be right back for you after we defeat Black.” And he was off before you could even protest. Goku let out a thunderous war cry as he shot towards the brawl, his hair flaring into scarlet as he rammed into Black, who had the weakened Trunks in a headlock. The teenager flopped to the ground when Black dropped him in favor of Goku, his hair turning back into its normal color. You growled angrily, but there wasn’t much you could do to help other than to get yourself caught again _._

_Maybe I can go find Mai and the other survivors._

Well, it was better than just sitting there and watching them fight. The cracked dome of Capsule Corp stood a bit further up ahead, close to the place where their hideout was. You began to slowly make your way around the debris, hiding in the shadows of the forlorn buildings as the war raged on. Quite a few times you were almost crushed into a pancake as the vibrations caused by their blows broke off massive pieces of what was left of the surviving structures, or when a rogue Final Flash or Kamehameha came your way. Finally, after dodging the sixth attack you ran into Mai, who was spectating close by.

“Y/n!” Mai nearly screamed, and you quickly covered her mouth with your hand.

“Mai, I’ll explain later it was a long story.” She nodded at you, and both of your attention was drawn back to the battle by Trunk’s frantic cry. You and Mai could only stare up at them, horrified as a magenta blade protruded from the prince’s back, trails of crimson leaking down his white armor as he twitched in agony. The warrior made a raspy choking sound and like Trunks, his hair faded to black. Black’s face was painted with Vegeta’s blood, and he had never looked so terrifying, grinning with shining white teeth as the dark liquid ran down his face, like red tears. You watched as the blood plopped onto the ground and you heard Mai let out a quiet sob. Zamasu had Trunks pinned underfoot, barely able to keep his eyes open, and it appeared that Goku was the only one capable of standing, but even he looked tired and weary, bruises and scratches all over his body.

With a flick of Black’s hand, Vegeta dropped like an anchor into a crater, unconscious and bleeding heavily. You gritted your teeth and struggled against the rage that made your entire body shake like a leaf. Black’s eyes locked on the last standing Saiyan, and he began to power up as Goku splayed his feet ready to fight to the death. Black flew towards him in astonishing speed and crushed him into a building, holding him there as Goku fought valiantly against him.

“Black,” Zamasu said coyly. “Why don’t you tell our dear friend dear how this came to be? He must be so confused.”

His partner smirked, and the entire battlefield went quiet.

“What? What do you mean?” Goku spat.

“Oh I think you know very well what I mean Son Goku,” Black purred. “Why do you think I look like you? Why **I am you**?”

When Goku didn’t respond, he went on slowly, savoring every syllable. “Because Goku, I stole your body. I used the Super Dragon Balls to switch bodies with you, and you know what I did after that?”

A cold sense of dread solidified in your stomach and you wanted to vomit as you guessed his next words.

“I killed you. And then your wife and that little brat that looked like you. I killed them all.”


	8. The Curse of Immortality

Trunks gasped in dismay as Zamasu and Black both cackled, but Goku stayed silent, his head drooping. They continued to laugh, and the good Saiyan continued to do nothing. It was as though the shock of the discovery had turned him into a statue. Suddenly, his power skyrocketed, and a strong gust of wind blew Black back, and Goku’s aura blazed as he let out a bloodcurdling howl. His eyes burned a dazzling blue and his hair stood up as he bellowed in frenzy. “Y-YOU BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU!”

The power emanating from the Saiyan was like a tornado, threatening to blow you and Mai away.  Zamasu leaped off of Trunks and Black jumped onto a building, his eyes narrowed and shoulders tense. The furious warrior shot forward so fast that Black didn’t even know what hit him as he was driven into a building, the top stories caving in and burying him in rubble with a cloud of dust. Goku didn’t waste any time in sending a barrage of blows at Black, who didn’t reappear. The smoke finally cleared after five minutes, and all was silent except for Goku’s rapid breathing.

For one victorious second you thought that the imposter had been killed, but as always, you hoped for too much. The rocks trembled, and beams of light slipped through the cracks, blinding everyone watching as you heard Black roar as he transformed into his Rose form. The rocks that covered him were blasted off, flying in every direction. As if in slow motion, one flew right at you two, and you did the only plausible thing you could think of in that instant, which was shove Mai out of the way. You didn’t even have a moment to be afraid as the entire thing came crashing down on your body, bones splintering and blood flooding out of your mouth and nose like a hose. It left you alive, but barely. Fuzzily, you could hear Mai crying out for you, but you didn’t have the energy to reply. The shock wore off after a couple of seconds, and the excruciating pain coursed through every cell of your body. It felt as if you had been trampled over and over again by an elephant and then thrown down a steep cliff into a pit of fire. Your vision was dark and hot as tears managed to squeeze their way through your blind eyes, soaking into the ground. Vaguely, you could feel Mai gripping your hand, the only thing that was saved from the boulder. All the noise was muffled, and nothing in the world existed to you except the pain as you slipped into nothingness.

Oh God, you wished you could just die.

Black had heard the human girl yell your name, and as he turned his head to look Goku took that opportunity to land a blow in his gut, spraying saliva out of his mouth. Quickly he retaliated, swinging his arm to drive his fist into his opponent’s face, surely breaking his jaw in the process. Goku flew into back a few feet, clutching at his face, and that’s when Black got a good look at why Trunks and Mai were both sobbing. He felt his blood freeze in his veins as he saw your forearm sticking out underneath a stray chunk of rock that he had dislodged during his transformation. Black had never felt so frightened or angry as he did now in his entire life, and he curled up into a fetal position mid-air, incredible power building up inside him before he unfurled and let it all go, energy blasts whistling through the air in every direction, a small one catching Goku through the chest and he too joined Vegeta on the ground, feebly alive. Another one nearly hit Zamasu, who unfortunately managed to dodge out of the way just in the nick of time.

He rushed towards you and lifted up the boulder, Mai too preoccupied with you to even care that he was standing next to her. His ears were ringing, and the only thing he could hear was the loud, erratic drumming of his own heart, oblivious to Zamasu who had joined him. Black was unable to do anything except stare at your limp form, still breathing but mangled beyond comprehension. He couldn’t even tell where your face was, everything was just a bloody mess, and the only mercy that your body allowed you was unconsciousness. Your skin and bones knitted themselves slowly back together, but only for the wounds that could kill you. Most of your bones were still broken and some of your organs were still squashed, but at least you were alive, but barely.

Trunks had managed to drag himself close to you, but Black was still ignoring everyone. He bent down with his hands outstretched, fingers brushing against your bloody back and he felt you stir a little, and he let out a breath that he hadn’t even realized he’s had been holding.

He turned to Zamasu. “We’re leaving.” He stated with barely contained rage.

“What? Black you can’t be serious,” his counterpart argued. “We’ve almost won.”

Black bared his teeth, and the two Gods glared heatedly at each other, waiting for the other to look away first. In the end, Black won. Zamasu huffed and crossed his arms, it looked like Black was really obsessed. He’d have to find a way to dispose of you soon, before his partner became more entangled in your traps than he already was. But now was not the time. He watched as Black picked you up gingerly, like a mother holding her newborn, and cradled you against his chest, not even caring if the blood was soaking into his skin. Mai tried to stop him from taking you, but all he had to do was send a death glare at her to stop her in her tracks. To Trunks’ credit, he somehow dragged himself back onto his feet and attempted to charge at Black with his sword, but all the God had to do was kick him in the stomach and the Saiyan keeled over. Mai looked frantically between Trunks and you.

“Take them and leave.” Black barked. “Before I change my mind you worthless human.”

“I’m so sorry Y/n,” She whispered to you as she scrambled away to gather her fallen comrades. Black teleported back into his room, immediately placing you on his bed and scavenging for medical supplies. If only he had a Senzu bean…..

Fortunately, there were a few first aid kits in the kitchen and bathroom. He managed to splint your broken bones and bandage up your open wounds, but he had no idea what to do for your internal bleeding. Zamasu watched amused as his friend ran around like a nursemaid tending to you, before he pushed Black out of the way as he started trying to push your organs back to place with his hands. And based on the groans coming out of your mouth your unconscious body didn’t like it either.

“You idiot! That’s going to make it worse!” Zamasu scolded him.

“And I suppose you can do it better?” Black retorted, indignant and covered in your blood. His chambers now looked like something out of a horror movie, with stains all over the walls and dirty clothes strewn across the floor, completed by a couple of large bowls containing reddened water.

“As a matter of fact, I can Black.” Zamasu continued, it was kind of fun riling him up. Black looked more flustered than he had in his entire life, and it was honestly kind of endearing. But the Kai feared that if he waited any longer to heal you Black may actually combust, and as entertaining as that would be, the cabin took forever to build, and he didn’t want it to be destroyed just because Black was distressed over an insignificant ant like you. He placed his hand on your ribs and it glowed, sending some of his healing power to you. Zamasu could feel your bones reattaching and your intestines shifting back into their rightful positions, but he didn’t heal all of you. If you had to be there, then you would at least suffer for it. He had to get his licks in somehow.  

After a couple minutes, he took his hands off and turned to Black smirking triumphantly. “Done. Now that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Black huffed through his nose, half grateful and half annoyed that Zamasu managed to upstage him, but at least you hadn’t been awake to see it. “Thanks,” he muttered. “You can go now.” He looked pointedly at the door, making Zamasu roll his silver eyes.

“Whatever you say Black,” he replied smoothly, disappearing into the hallway.

Now that his counterpart was gone, Black finally had a chance to be alone with you. You had definitely seen better days, but now at least your insides were where they were supposed to be and you had stopped bleeding so heavily. You had stopped letting out soft cries of pain every time he touched you, and your face was relaxed in a deep sleep. After staring at you for a couple of minutes just to make sure you were okay, he gathered and washed all of the supplies. Black hadn’t wanted to leave you by yourself when you were so injured, but he just couldn’t take the odor of it anymore.

The cleanup took over an hour, and by the time he returned to your room you were awake and gazing foggily at the ceiling. Years of hard training and battles had hardened your body. You turned your head in his direction, managing to push his name out of your lips.

“B-Black,” you whimpered, reaching out to him. “It hu-urts.”

He came over to you, concern etched all over his face. “I know,” he murmured. “It was my fault you got hurt.” He was completely bare to you, the only person who could tear his walls down like this. You were the only one who could see his throbbing heart underneath all those layers of clothes and muscle, the first and the last. But he would build it back up brick by brick if he had to, bar the doors and arm the walls, because when it came to survival, only fools wore their hearts on their sleeves, and Black was no fool. To survive in a world like this meant tearing down the walls of those unworthy of life to have perfect order, one that was not tainted by greed and envy.

The false Saiyan pulled away from you and thrashed his head, trying desperately to dislodge the gnawing feelings of guilt and stress. The sudden movement startled you and you winced, getting into a sitting position. “Black?”

“Don’t talk to me! Can’t you see what you’re doing to me you witch?” He gripped your arms tightly, pressing violet bruises into your skin ignoring your whines as you tried to move away. “I’m a God, and I will not let some measly human ruin the perfect paradise that this universe deserves!”

Something inside you snapped with a twang, perhaps your sanity and patience. “Paradise?! You call this paradise you bastard? This is no fucking paradise, it’s a world on fire, set by you!” Your statement surprised him enough for you to yank your arm out of his grasp, which you promptly used to whip him across the face hard enough to make your palm sting. Black didn’t even flinch, which only made you angrier.

“Damn you! Say something!” Tears welled in your eyes as you wobbled on the edge of another breakdown, your entire body aflame with pain. “I-I hate you!” You slammed your fists weakly against his chest and collapsed against him with your forehead resting against his heart. You spent an awkward moment just panting in exhaustion, during which he just stood still.

Black unexpectedly burst into a deep, full-bodied laugh, and you drew back, looking up at him in befuddlement and a bit of unease. “You humans are so conceited that you can’t think straight, let alone understand the mind of a God! Why do you think I’m keeping you alive hm? Because I like you?” You opened your mouth to protest but he interrupted you. “No, it’s because it’s simply meant to be. It’s destiny. You’re only alive because I let you be alive, because you’re immortal. Maybe one day I can mold you into a perfect being, maybe even let you live in my paradise. You think you have control, you think you can control _me_ , but you have no idea the plans I have for you, my pet.”

Your temper flared. “First of all, I am not you pet! Second of all, you killed billions! What’s a paradise with no one in it?” You shouted back at him, a bit of blood dribbling from your mouth but you didn’t give a shit.

“Sacrifices have to be made, Y/n. Maybe one day you’ll understand that.”

“To Hell with your sacrifices Black! Who are you to judge us when you are no better! You say we are violent, yet you go out and slaughter innocent people!”

“The difference between me and the disgusting mortals you protect is that I’m doing it for a worthy cause! I’ve watched your kind, killing each other by groves for land, wealth, and their own swollen pride,” Black hissed. “They don’t deserve to live.”

“We’re not all like that! You can’t condemn us all for the crimes of a few. Tell me Black, do you really think I am like that?” You jabbed your finger in his chest.

Something flashed in his eye, but only for a moment. It flitted away before you could catch it, your shoulders hunched as you waited for his answer.

“No.”  He finally stated. “But one day you may understand. Until then you can hate me as much as you want, but I’ll win you over in the end. I always win.”

And with that, he spun on his heel and left, leaving you spluttering after him with your emotions hopelessly tangled in a web of wrong answers.


	9. Hate Me Not

After that last disastrous confrontation with Black, he spent his time avoiding you at all costs, sending Zamasu in his place. The Kai rarely spoke to you, tending to you mostly in your sleep and never lingering for too long. Every time he looked at you, it felt as if he was excavating all your secrets and insecurities and you soon began to crave for more comfortable company. Three weeks was all it took for you to heal enough to limp around, and you used it to your advantage. You mostly hung out in the kitchen or living room, not sure if you were allowed to go outside or not.

You had searched in vain for answers in Black's room, in the numerous books, in every crevice, Hell, even under Black’s bed, sheets, closet, and underwear drawers but no solution to anything that could help save the earth presented itself. The only “information” that you could find was that most of his clothes looked the same, dark-hued and long. But for some odd reason he had mostly pink boxers, which wouldn’t do much unless you were planning to blackmail him. The only improvement to your current life was that at least they didn’t force you to wear the _chi_ bands anymore, since you were probably too weak to escape anyways.

Since you were occupying Black’s room, he spent most of his time in a guest room at God knows where. There were too many rooms and many of them were locked, and when you knocked no one ever answered. You hadn’t even had a chance to look for clues outside of Black’s room, as you always had the sense that Zamasu was inspecting you, waiting for the moment you made a wrong move. It was unnerving in the least. The loneliness was beginning to eat away at you, slowly driving you insane, making you eat less and less and sulking more and more. Zamasu must have noticed because one day he shooed you outside onto the patio, not out of pity but more like you were starting to look like an unkept animal. He left with a cryptic warning of what would happen if you didn’t return within three hours, not that you were planning on running away or anything. You knew when you were out of your league, and where would you even run to? You began to make your long descent down the ridiculously steep stairs, swallowing your fear and trying not to scream.

Black happened to look out his window, frowning as he noticed you gingerly stepping down the stairs at a sluggishly slow pace, gripping the rails so tightly that your knuckles turned white. All your bones had just barely begun to heal, and your left leg had gotten a particularly bad break when the boulder crushed you. It was still in a splint, and you hadn’t needed to go down any steps for about three weeks.

_A month? That’s how long I’ve been here?_ The realization hit you like a train, and you swayed dangerously on your unsteady feet. They had a calendar, but you’ve never paid attention to it. Black watched as you nearly tripped down the entire flight of stairs, and he resisted the impulse of flying through the window to make sure you didn’t crack your skull on the way down. What if she knocks herself out? What the Hell was Zamasu thinking letting her out like that? He couldn’t stand it anymore, slamming his door open before stalking into the living room where Zamasu was sitting at the dining table drinking tea.

“I’m going out for a while,” Black told him.

His other self didn’t even look at him, just waving a hand to let him know that he heard.

Black stalked out the door, quickly pinpointing your _chi_ before following you far back, but never out of eyesight. You weaved in and out of the trees, occasionally leaving markers on the trunks or rocks so you could find your way back. You hummed softly as you strolled, just enjoying the smell and feeling of fresh air after being kept inside for so long. Birds swooped overhead, and you could see squirrels frolicking in the trees. It was like Heaven but in Hell. How could a place like this be so peaceful, when the outside was turning to ashes and dying before your eyes? It was completely untouched by Black, so different from West City, once a glory but now in ruins.

The trees began to thin, and the grass grew greener and thicker as you gradually progressed further towards the center. You came upon a large, clear river in the midst of an open clearing, surrounded by flowers of all pigments. It was stunning, even more so when the rest of the world was painted in red, black and gray. You bent down on your knees next to the river, dipping a few fingers into the lukewarm water as the tiny minnows nipped gently at them. You hadn’t smiled in so long. A genuine smile was a rarity these days.

You leaned forward until your face was a foot away from the still blue water, brushing your fingers against the long, seagrass that reached up towards the sun.

“Y/n.” A voice came from behind you, startling you so bad that you flopped into the water with a yelp, splashing around before you were pulled spluttering back to the surface by a strong hand. You lay on your back struggling to regain your breath before you opened your eyes, only to find Black’s face hovering above you. Oh great, it was _him_.

“What was that for?” You yelled at him, pissed that he had ruined your good mood.

“I was worried you were going to fall in.” He blinked at you impassively.

You had no idea where the sudden attitude came from, but you were so done with his bullshit that you didn’t even care anymore. “Well you did a great job of causing it!” You spat at him. “And to add onto that, you avoid me for days, refusing to even look at me and now you’re following me all the way out here! Who the Hell do you think you are?”

“Your savior,” he replied simply.

“I wouldn’t need saving if you didn’t cause it! I don’t need anything for you!”

You had barely finished your sentence before you were submerged underwater again when Black pushed you off the ledge. “Black!” You screamed at him as he smirked mischievously at you from the dry ground.

“You jerk! Help me!” You swallowed a large gulp of water as it rushed into your mouth. He plucked a flower and twirled it in his fingers as he watched you try to swim with a splint on.

“Like you said, you didn’t need anything from me. I’m merely honoring your wishes darling,” Black said playfully.

“You son of a b-” Another gush of water in your mouth cut you short. “Just help me!”

He plucked an orange petal off the flower, completely unconcerned. “Only if you say please.”

“You’re so childish!” You spit a stream of water at him.

“Says the one spitting water at me like a petulant infant!” He threw a stick at you gently, hitting you on the forehead before standing up, grinning roguishly.

“Wait Black!” He took a step back, teasing you.

“Say it.”

“Fine! Please! Happy now?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” He reached out and grabbed you under the armpits before hauling you out, all your clothes soaking wet and clinging tightly to your body. You were too tired to do much except sit there with Black holding you as you regained your breath. He didn’t seem to mind the fact that you were dripping water all over his _gi,_ nor the fact that you were sitting in his lap pressed against him with your head resting on his chest. Your energy was completely sapped due to lying in bed and slouching around for three weeks with no real exercise. You felt like a wind-blown ragdoll, but you were too far gone to care. Your eyes closed as the feeling of the sun warmed your body, and you were just content to rest in his arms.

Black gazed down affectionately at you, rubbing circles on your arm with his thumb. “You really are a marvelous creature, you know,” he said unexpectedly.

You didn’t grace him with an answer. Part of your mind screamed how wrong this was, letting the bane of the entire human race cuddle you and doing nothing to stop his murder spree, but you couldn’t help it. He was a complete psychopath, but he could be charming when he wanted to be, and it wasn’t like there was much you could do to prevent him from killing people either way. You had tried, and you could still feel the phantom pains as your reward. Life now wasn’t much different from before, when you were living out in the middle of nowhere, the only difference now was that you had company.

Your mind felt like a rabid dog constantly biting itself, slowly tearing itself apart day by day, and Black felt the same way. Slaughtering humans wasn’t as enjoyable as it used to be, because every time he stared into one of their ugly faces he could see yours furrowing disapprovingly back at him. He knew you didn’t love the humans much more than he did, but you were a champion of justice who always tried to do the right thing.

“Justice.” He said suddenly, breaking you from the chains of your thoughts. “An interesting concept isn’t it? You say let the humans live, and I say let them die, and yet we both define it as the same word.”

You opened your eyes and looked up at him, the man you were supposed to hate but couldn’t, the man who had taken trillions of lives in cold blood, talking about _justice_.

“I guess we all interpret things differently,” you said coldly.

He hummed softly and squeezed you a little bit closer to him, stroking your hair. “Yes, part of the reason why I believe I am so attracted to you. We are like the same person, who chose to stray down different paths, yet they wound up connecting back together in the end.”

Your head shouted at you to stop, to falling for his tricks yet your heart yearned for something more, desperately trying to convince himself that there was some good in him.

“Just give me a reason Black, just please give me a reason,” you said painfully.

“A reason for what?”

“A reason to believe that there’s some good in you, even just a tiny drop.” You begged, placing your hands on his chest. “Because I really don’t want to hate you Black, I really don’t.”

He looked down at you broodingly, a thousand emotions are flitting through his face before they all vanished as quickly as they came, and you knew you had lost in that moment.

“What gave you the idea that I cared if you hate me?” He growled, seizing your hands and you flinched. It felt false even on his tongue as he said it, but it was easier to pretend to not care.

“Well if you really didn’t care then why are you here?” You shot back. “Why keep me here for me just to hate you Black?” You yanked your hands out of his with surprisingly little resistance from his part and shoved him back. You turned away from him and half expected him to throw you back in the river, but he didn’t. It would have been less surprising if he had done that instead of what he said next.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and you realized he was so close that you could feel his breath tickle your ear. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” He touched your hip and when you didn’t react, he pulled you in so that your back was pressed against the chest. Even though you weren’t visibly moving your brain was whirling at a hundred miles per hour. _Did he just **apologize**? _ He hadn’t shown a drop of remorse at anything he’s done that you were there to witness, yet he was apologizing to _you_ , a human that he was supposed to despise and murder. Things would have been so much simpler if he did.

You gave a tired sigh as he nuzzled your cheek in a show of affection you would have never expected from a man like him. “Okay Black, I accept your apology. Now will you please stopping crushing my torso so I can breathe?” You couldn’t even trust your own heart anymore.

Yet, despite your inner turmoil you couldn’t help but relish in the attention he gave you. His hands began to explore your body, but never straying towards forbidden territory, for which you were grateful for. Black sat down, pulling you with him as his fingers grazed over your ribs and you let out a startled squeak, wiggling a little. He chuckled and did it again, and you tried to swallow the laugh bubbling in your throat. “B-Black stop it! I’m sensitive there!”

“I know,” he said cockily, and you could feel his strong chest quivering in mirth behind you. You tried to crawl away, but he trapped your legs under his and touched spots you didn’t even know you were ticklish at. You were laughing so hard that tears welled up and your chest began to constrict.

“Black! Stop! You win!” You rolled onto your side and he followed, still caged around you. Pollen exploded into the air as your bodies collapsed on the flowers, like a mushroom cloud of yellow. It clung onto every surface that it settled on, his wild mane and dark clothes and making you sneeze, a weird sound at the back of your throat as you tried to stop laughing simultaneously.

“Not until you forgive me.” You could literally see the smirk gracing his face as he kept dancing those slender fingers over you.

“I do! I already said I did!” You managed to get out, and as if on cue he stopped.

For a couple minutes you lay there, letting your eyes fall shut as you regained your breath, while Black traced intricate patterns across your skin as you rested. He released your legs and fitted his body snuggly around yours, and you could almost imagine that he was a normal man who could one day become your lover, but he was far from that. But you could deal with that issue a later time, focusing instead on the momentary peace that you knew was too precious to lose.

The afternoon sunshine was warm but not too hot, and a soft breeze blew by, rustling the rainbow flowers and lush leaves. You could hear Black shift behind you, before tucking something into your hair. Turning over, you nuzzled into his neck and you felt him stiffen, and you felt a flash of embarrassment at the thought that you might have overstepped your boundaries, but Black quickly shot down that idea when he gave a pleased rumble and placed his chin on top of yours. His arms tightened around your waist and a hand snuck through the fabric of your shirt to caress your waist, and it felt so good that you just wanted time to freeze and stay in that moment forever.

“You really are beautiful you know,” Black whispered into your ear. He smelled like tea and fresh clothes, with a hint of oakwood, and you marveled at how meticulously clean he always was. “You’re unlike any other human I’ve met before,” the Saiyan continued.

“How so?” You asked sleepily, slipping your hand through his vest to smooth your fingers across his spandex-covered chest.

“Well for one, you think. Intelligence is so scarce these days, and not something to be taken for granted. I, of anyone can appreciate an intuitive mind.”

“Other people think Black,” you teased. “Or else how could anything ever get done?”

“Those other humans think about materialistic and animalistic needs, unlike you Y/n. You’re perfectly happy and selfless without any of what those other people have, an admirable trait.”

“Were you stalking me?” You accused without much venom, since you had already guessed as much and were too serene to care much about anything at the moment.

“You were quite boring sometimes you know. No entertainment at all.” You whacked his chest gently.

“Well excuse me, I didn’t know my life was supposed to be broadcast on live television. What do you do all day Black? Have a tea party with Zamasu? I could see you in a nice dress.” You giggled at the idea of him in a velvet frock with a matching bonnet on his head, sitting across from Zamasu who was wearing a similar attire, both holding China teacups with sweets on a plate next to them.

Black seemed to be able to read your mind, because he just stared at you with wide, black eyes like you had grown an extra head. “I will never understand you humans sometimes.”

“It’s called imagination. Now I imagine that you will stop talking and let me sleep please.” You yawned.

He complied and stared at you fondly as your eyelids dropped until only a glimmer of your eye was visible, and you gave him a cute smile and fell asleep in his arms.


	10. Victory

When you woke again, you were back in Black’s room, said owner snoozing calmly beside you on his back, with a firm arm wrapped possessively around your shoulders. Hell, you didn’t even know if they did sleep until now. He was nearly completely naked, with nothing but a pair of dark grey boxers on and you tried not to stare at his muscular chest, rising and falling with each breath he took. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought that he was an angel. He was in a sense, a fallen angel that cast himself out to try to purge the world of evil. It was really all about perspective. The little light that was allowed in through his velvet curtains was enough to outline his sculpted jaw and gorgeous eyelashes. Your legs were tangled in his, the sheets a jumble around your limbs. Black must have undressed you down to your underwear when you were asleep because that was all you were wearing when you looked down. Your face reddened at the thought that Black had seen you nearly naked, and what he might have _done_ when you weren’t aware, but he wouldn’t really do that after yesterday would he?

Black mumbled something incoherently making you snigger. He might’ve dropped in the “fuck” or “food”, but you couldn’t be too sure. He let out a soft moan that made heat pool in your stomach, and swiftly turned onto his side so that your faces were an inch apart.

“Wha-” You let out a shocked squeak as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, and began purring, the vibrations sending shockwaves down to your lower body. His arms tightened almost painfully, nimble fingers finding their way to your hips. You stifled the lewd noise that threatened to escape from your mouth and tried to keep your heartbeat under control as he began sucking on your clavicle.

 _He’s going to be the death of me_ , you thought as your mind began clouding over. _Oh fuck…._

You were tempted to wake Black up before he was able to do anything else that he might come to regret which would have been humiliating for both of you, but the more primal part of your brain shrieked at you to let him continue. Luckily, Black’s advances were halted by a loud pounding on his bedroom door.

“Black! Wake up!” Zamasu hollered from the outside. “It nearly noon!”

Black jolted awake, staring blearily around the room until his eyes landed on you. He frowned as another knock pierced the room and let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll be back,” he said looking at you. “Wait here.”

You nodded and tried not to stare as he changed and got dressed, the muscles on his back rippling with every tiny movement. As he opened the door, you quickly pulled the sheets to cover yourself as Zamasu glared holes through your head. The immortal Kai was seriously unnerving sometimes, and you wondered if he even had an actual heart underneath the flamboyant uniform. The only thing he really seemed to love was his tea and hunting humans, which wasn’t much of a hobby. But then, Black didn’t seem to do much else either.

The door shut, and you lay back down staring at the ceiling in boredom until the sound of suppressed shouting slipped through the walls. It was Zamasu and Black, arguing over something you couldn’t really make out, but you had a pretty good guess to what it was about. Quietly, you slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the door, praying that it wouldn’t creak as you opened it. Their voices escalated as you moved closer, slipping inside a bathroom in the hallway to eavesdrop.

“You’re becoming too attached to that human girl Black!” Zamasu hissed venomously. “You’re so obsessed that you can barely make heads or tails of what is happening right in front of you!”

“I can see perfectly clear, Zamasu,” Black replied, his voice sounded strained as if he was keeping his temper in check with difficulty.

“She’s distracting you from our Project Zero Mortals! Or have you forgotten, she is a human! The very race we must eliminate!”

“Of course, I remember. But she’s technically immortal, and she’s not like the other ones.”

“She’s technically immortal!” Zamasu mocked. “She’s still a goddamn human Black! She was born with the same defects they all were, weakness, stupidity, greed, the list goes on! What happens when she finally shows it? They’re excellent liars, so good that they’ve even fooled you!”

“I-” Black protested, but the green Kai cut him off.

“This is the folly that brought down so many Gods! They see a mortal, they think they fall in ‘love’, and it destroys them. Just like it’s doing to you! You’ve been going out less and less with me to complete our Project! The cunning of mankind is greater than the Gods have anticipated.”

“I know that Zamasu! You needn’t remind me, but she has no ties with any of the other mortals! She’s no threat.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a couple of seconds before Black’s counterpart said something that made your blood chill in your veins.

“If you don’t get rid of her, I will.”

You heard what sounded like a shove, and then the footsteps began to recede, and another pair began to approach. _Shit!_

Hurriedly, you sprinted back on the tips of your toes, closing the door silently and jumping onto the bed just as the doorknob began to turn. You turned the other way and focused on calming down your heartbeat, so loud that you were certain the keen-eared Saiyan would be able to hear it. Black reentered the room and the bed creaked a little as he sat on it, and after a moment he a hand rested on your hip.

“So what were you talking about?” You pretended that you hadn’t heard their entire argument from the bathroom.

“Nothing important,” he grunted dismissively. “I would just stay out of Zamasu’ way. He’s a bit on edge these days.”

“Why?”

"Nothing that you need to be concerned with,” Black replied dismissively. You huffed and turned to face him, eyes flashing. “It sounded like _something_.” He didn’t reply, instead, his piercing onyx eyes searched your face, and it felt as if he was peeling back your skin to expose your lies, but if he found something he didn’t say it.

“I said it’s nothing,” he growled, his hand tightening on your skin. You whimpered but kept your mouth shut, there was no point in poking at a hornet’s nest.

Black could tell that you were upset when you pried off his hand and flipped back to face the wall, and he let out a frustrated sigh. Humans were so much more complicated than the Gods had imagined, it was almost a pity that he had to kill all of them. Still, it was what had to be done.

“You don’t realize how lucky you are,” he breathed, and you perked up at that. _Lucky_? _How in the Hell were you lucky?_

“How?!” You spat, and anger surged through you like lightning. “I’m lucky to be your plaything? For you to kidnap me and keep me here, like some sort of sick game, until you get bored of me?”

“No,” Black said. “You could be spared. You could live to see a new paradise, a world purged of the filth that your kind has created. You could live by my side, _forever_.”

You opened your mouth to interject, but he silenced you with a finger on your lips. “You don’t realize what you are just yet, but one day you will. Don’t worry little one, I’ll take good care of you.”

You batted his hand away. “Have you ever thought about what I want, Black? Has it ever occurred to that thick head of yours that maybe I don’t want to live like this?”

“Like what?”

“Trapped in this place, knowing this is so wrong yet I’m helpless to do anything about it, no matter how hard I try. I know where you go every day, to kill more innocent people. People that could have lived if it wasn’t for you, and yet, I can’t help myself….”

His eyes glinted with interest and he leaned forward, inches away from your face, so close that you could feel his breath on your cheek and the heat of his body.

“From what?”

Something inside of you broke, and your voice trembled. “L-loving you.”

He smiled. This was his greatest victory.


	11. Zamasu's Revenge

Zamasu knew it was time. The white-haired Kai had stormed off after he had heard your confession through the door, and that was the last straw. The God had already feared that his partner had fallen into your clutches, and his only tolerance hung upon the thought that you would never return Black’s affection. Love was a weakness, more powerful and harmful than anything, even hate. He had watched countless Gods in other universes wither away because of it, becoming hopelessly entangled, and the more they struggled, the more the noose tightened. In almost all cases, they were stripped of their titles and divine power because of their stupidity and lust.

There was no way he was going to let that happen to Black, not after all they’ve achieved. To throw it all away for a mere _human_ …… It was unthinkable. But there was still a problem with your immortality, he couldn’t simply just dispose of your carcass after he killed you. No, he would have to seal you somewhere or in something, someplace where you would never be able to see the light of day again.

He chuckled viciously to himself as his mind quickly began weaving together an evil plot. It was all falling into place now.

A few days later, a burst of blue light lit up the cabin, and the ground shook like an earthquake.

“Zamasu! Black!” A voice clamored from the sky. Unplanned but perfect. That stinking Saiyan was just what the Kai needed to complete his plan. Black shot out of his room, while you were nowhere to be seen, exactly as he had wanted. Originally, he was going to go pick a fight with the Saiyan himself and make an excuse to double back, because he knew there was no way that his other self would allow you on the battlefield especially after that last incident. Hopefully, while Black was finally away from your poisonous presence his head would clear a little.

“You should be able to take care of him fine on your own,” Zamasu drawled from behind a cup of tea. “Take the fight somewhere else, I don’t want our house being destroyed by your carelessness.”

His partner nodded wordlessly and burst through the front door, powering up and charging towards the barely visible speck in the sky. As soon as they disappeared into the distance, Zamasu immediately got up and headed towards Black’s room, where he knew you were going to be. You stuck to his side like a burr, out of fear or love he couldn’t tell. Maybe you could sense the impending storm that constantly hovered over Zamasu like a cloud, and though he didn’t like to admit it, you were smarter than most mortals he’d encountered, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assume that you knew that he wanted you gone. He slowed down and floated off the ground as he approached the room, which sounded completely silent so that he wouldn’t alert you to his presence. You would surely bolt if you knew that he was there.

He grasped the handle and pressed his ear against the wood, turning the knob noiselessly and cracked open the door, to find you with your back to him facing the window. Everything was going smoothly, just as it should. You were peeking out the window, searching for any signs of the Saiyans, too immersed to notice the creeping Kai behind you. You sensed at the last moment that there was someone behind you, but it was too late. All it took was a hard tap to your nape, and a hot flash of pain surged through you, knocking you out cold.

Zamasu scoffed. Humans were so fragile and oblivious. He hauled you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before bringing you to the kitchen where he quickly bound up your ankles and wrists with _chi_ bands. He snuck out through the back door, still carrying you before setting off into the forest, before finally ascending into the air once he got far enough. Zamasu pressed a finger to your pulse, and to his disappointment, it was still beating as it should.

After a grueling ten-minute flight to the other side of the world, he finally touched down on a rock outcrop next to a large, frothing ocean. The navy-blue waves lapped greedily at rocks, slowly eroding it away. There was a cave nearby on the beach, mostly hidden underground with a small entrance that the even the skinny God could barely crawl through. It would surely flood when the tide rose. A malicious grin spread across his face as he imagined you squirming desperately in your bonds as you drowned. Your immortality would merely prolong your torture for an eternity, making you feel like dying a thousand deaths yet still remaining very much alive. It was perfect.

In the end, all the time and effort that he had spent scourging the planet for your prison was worth. Oh how much trouble you had caused. But now, you would finally pay.

For the first time in his life, Zamasu let out a full belly laugh that echoed far into the night, jolting you back to reality. You groaned through the gag and shook your head, willing away your massive headache and neck pain, your eyes burning with tears as you regained your surroundings. Finally noticing that you were awake, he flung you to the ground and planted a foot on your chest, squashing your lungs. You let out muffled screams and thrashed around, trying to dislodge his white boot from your chest, but he wouldn’t budge.

He bent down and grabbed a fistful of your h/c hair, tugging you forward inches away from his face.

“Listen closely you pitiful worm. You’ve done nothing but cause trouble the moment you existed, and now all your sins will be repaid without mercy. To think you would even dream of being with a God makes me want to retch. So now, you can rot alone for all of eternity in a cave!” A sharp, heavy blow landed across your cheek, your tears flung into the air as your head cracked to the side. The bone splintered, and you lay there gasping in agony as your bones immediately began to reconnect, saving you from death. Strangled moans seeped through your gag, inflaming Zamasu.

He grabbed you by the neck, compressing it so that your bones couldn’t heal for the moment. Step by step, he began to drag you towards the opening of the black cave, before stuffing you inside like a ragdoll where you rolled to the bottom. Thankfully, the inside of the cave was much larger than it seemed from the outside, so at least you wouldn’t be terribly cramped. On the other hand, it wasn’t the ideal place to spend the rest of your life in. You could see the shadow of Zamasu flick his hand, and suddenly your _chi_ bands were connected to ropes made of the similar material, where it looped through a couple of energy rings on the wall. It was long enough for you to move around a bit, but not enough for you to crawl out of the cave, but these new cuffs seemed to sap your energy more than the ones you had when you were first kidnapped. It was taking longer than usual to heal, and you felt horribly tired as if you had run a hundred miles without stopping for a break.

It was ironic wasn’t it, first you had been kidnapped, and then again by the same God from himself. Your head spun, and the weight of everything came crashing back down onto your soul. Zamasu retreated back to his cabin without a second glance, a satisfied smile on his face.

Now you were alone in the big wide world, and horribly helpless. Hot liquid ran down your face, and you weren’t exactly sure whether it was tears or blood, and it didn’t matter anyway. It would be washed away by the waves when the cave flooded. Water trickled down through the entrance, sloping down towards your prone body. It wouldn’t be much longer now. The air around you smelled damp and salty, and there was little light despite it only being a couple hours past noon. The sand clung your skin, and you fought back the urge to vomit your guts out.

How truly cruel this world was? You were finally so close to happiness, even if it was false and horribly wrong, but at least it was still something. And even that had been taken away from you.

Now you were left with nothing. Nothing at all but the merciless sting of reality.


	12. Hidden Treasures

A hard stone of dread settled in his stomach when Black returned, only to discover you nowhere to be found. He couldn’t even locate your _chi,_ which was worrying on its own. What made it worse was that Zamasu seemed to be more cheerful than he had ever been in his entire existence. His other self even went as far as to greet him at the door and offer him some steaming green tea. A little blood stained Black’s clothes, and he was a bit more disheveled than usual after the fight with the persistent teenage hero.

“Zamasu! Where the Hell is she?!” He asked as calmly as he could, seething on the inside. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the windows suddenly shattered into a million pieces as his energy spiked. A pink aura surrounded him, and his once black hair stood up, glowing brilliantly. Usually, he had a very mild temper when it came to Zamasu, but when it came to you, he risked nothing.

“Calm down Black. She is exactly where she was meant to be,” Zamasu said soothingly, which did nothing but make Black’s blood boil. He resisted the urge to strangle the arrogant, immortal Kai, but instead took a menacing step forward, placing them nose to nose.

“I said,” Black snarled, “WHERE IS Y/N?!”

“Well if you must know,” Zamasu curled his lip. “She’s probably drowning right now.”

All his resistance broke in that moment, and red swarmed his vision. Black lunged at him, throwing his fist out carelessly, punching a hole straight through the cabin, and the entire forest quaked with the force of it.

“What the Hell is wrong with you?!” Zamasu yelped, barely able to dodge it. Panic was setting into him as he realized how much stronger his partner was. He was just never on the receiving end of it.

“You should be overjoyed! I got rid of that stupid mortal girl for you, and now you’re free from her clutches!”

“SHUT UP!” Black roared, flying into him and tackling him through the wall. They crashed onto the ground, leaving deep gouges on the forest floor. Black grabbed him by the leg and whirled him against a tree, which instantly cracked in half on impact. Blood leaked out of his mouth and he struggled to regain his composure, but Black didn’t give him any time to recover. Immediately, he began to bombard Zamasu with _chi_   blasts, shooting blindly in his direction, knowing that at least a couple would hit their mark. The crater in the Earth began to grow wider and wider, and even the humans were beginning to fear that there was an earthquake. Trunks, though beaten as he was, knew something was wrong. Who could Black be fighting at this time? Vegeta and Goku had returned back to their time to heal and hadn’t returned yet.

Could they have come back? No. They promised him that they would meet back up with him first before they fought the two villainous Gods again, and Vegeta was not one to break his promises. Then who could they be fighting? Other than their _chi,_ could feel no considerable power on the planet that would be able to trigger Black to flare his energy like that. _Could they be?_  His blue eyes widened as he finally realized. _But would they really fight each other?_

There was only one way to find out.

As quickly as he could, he threw on his jacket and grabbed his sword, sprinting out of the compound and taking to the sky. After a couple of minutes, he was finally able to locate them, a mile away from their cabin. As he looked, Black was pounding Zamasu’s face into the ground, and each time it emerged bloodier and bloodier. From the looks of it, Black was winning. It was the perfect chance. After they tired each other out, then Trunks could swoop in and finish the job somehow.

But then a sudden thought occurred in his head. Where were you? The cabin was demolished, and he hadn’t seen you anywhere. _Oh God……_

You were one of his only friends other than Mai, who had taken care of him when he was wounded. He had first met you when you had saved his life by risking your own, dragging him off the battlefield and tending to his wounds. In fact, you were the reason that Trunks was still alive to fight. Abandoning Zamasu and Black, he rushed back to the cabin, digging furiously through the rubble.

“Y/N!” He called, but there was no answer. _Please tell me she’s not dead! Not her! Please!_

The blue-haired boy could feel tears begin to well up in his eyes, turning his vision blurry as he shifted desperately through the timber. Where were you? There was no blood, which was a relief, but then where could you be? His heart thumped erratically as his movements became more frantic, not even caring whether or not Black and Zamasu could hear him. All that mattered was you.

_Goddammit it! It’s only been a couple of hours since I felt her chi! Now it’s like she has completely disappeared off the face of the planet!_

The last attack that he had impulsively decided to carry out, incidentally the one during which you had been imprisoned in that cave, was an attempt to rescue you from Black. Trunks had sifted through all of the remains of the cabin and moved onto the forest around the site, but still he couldn’t find you. He tried calling for you, receiving no answer. His patience and worry could only be stretched so far, and then he went berserk. 

Flaring a brilliant gold, he rammed straight into Black, who was holding Zamasu down. As thanks, Zamasu swung a heel into Trunks’ back as he was smashing Black into the earth, and he went crashing down chest to chest against his opponent, who spat in disgust and headbutted him off. For some odd reason, the fake Saiyan completely ignored Trunks and resumed his battle with his housemate. Furious at being tossed aside, Trunks rejoined the brawl between the two Gods, and then it was all chaos from there. Blows were randomly exchanged, and the trees grew redder and redder with their rage.

“BRING HER BACK!” Black screamed, pummeling Zamasu.

“Never!” He coughed, elbowing his partner in the face.

Black flew right into Trunks, who didn’t waste a moment in driving him down into the trees. “What? What did you bastards do to her?!”

“That’s none of your concern you worm!”

Meanwhile, you were still imprisoned in the cave, your struggles getting weaker and weaker as the air left your deprived lungs. This was the fourth wave, and the salty water had risen well above your head. Blinding light appeared before your closed lids and your mind grew hazy as the sharp sting in your lungs finally reached its maximum, before it cleared as quickly as it came. And the cycle continued on and on, until nearly midnight, when the waves finally ebbed back into the main sea, leaving you weaker than you had ever been in your entire life. You were helpless to do anything but lay there, no tears even left to cry. You could think or do nothing, except for heaving the humid air into your body. Sand and seaweed clung to your face, and your tongue tasted like sandpaper in your dry mouth.

The cruelty of the world never ceased to astonish you, as each horror you thought was the worst was transcended many times over by another. As long as your heart continued to beat, your suffering would continue, forever and ever. It felt as if your soul was caving in on itself, sucking you into a massive black hole of despair and hopelessness.

Suddenly, flashes of colorful light lit up the night and the ground quaked, tossing you against the wall and you let out a grunt of discomfort. _What the fuck?_

Your eyes widened as a streak of bright pink flew across the opening of the cave. _A chi blast? Here?_

Even though you were unconscious for the whole trip to this watery prison, you were fairly confident that you were nowhere near the cabin. Black must have found out then. You could recognize his energy signature anywhere, but there was no way he could have discovered your rocky prison. He was far away, that much was certain. However, his _chi_ blasts could travel around the world.

The color brought back one vivid face to the shadowy surface of your mind, despite your efforts to push it away. Even now, it still felt wrong to love him, and even weirder to think about it. But his image pushed back, grabbed your scratched-up hands in his calloused ones and gripped them tight, his endless eyes staring deep into your mind, penetrating through the fog. He mouthed something, but you couldn’t hear any words.

Don’t give up, his lips moved. And then it disappeared.

Piecing it together, you realized that he was probably fighting Zamasu, but that wouldn’t help you in the least. As sore as your entire body was, there was no way you were going to be a damsel in distress again. Determination shot through your veins like liquid lightning, and you tugged angrily at the chains.

_I have to get out of here!_

But no matter how you twisted, they refused to break. Fine then, you would find another way.

A memory floated to the surface of your mind, but you pushed it away and searched desperately for any other that might provide you with a plan to escape. _Not that…please not that……_

Still, after ten minutes, you had nothing but that single, gruesome idea. Since you lived in a forest, which of course meant that there were many animals, it attracted quite a few hunters. Though as society progressed you saw less and less, but you could never forget that day.

And it haunted you ever since.


	13. The Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy with school. Next chapter's much happier I promise!

Dappled sunlight streamed through the golden treetops to heat the forest floor with its warmth as you ambled slowly through the colorful undergrowth, content to just enjoy the peace for once. You followed the dirt path that wound between the ancient trees, drifting farther and farther away from your cabin, and closer and closer to the rest of civilization. Summer was finally being chased away by the approaching chill of Winter, which meant that hunting season was beginning to draw to a close. You tried to avoid any hunters or others whenever possible, though still inevitably sometimes you would accidentally run into one or another every once in a while. The last thing you needed was for one of them to get suspicious and start investigating your past and uncovering your immortality and whatnot.

No, it was safer just to stay in solitude despite the occasional loneliness. Still stuck in your thoughts, you began to drift off the trodden road and into deeper woods, before a sudden high-pitched bark snapped you back into reality. It was barely audible to normal human senses making you believe that you had imagined it at first. Then it sounded again, somehow even weaker than before. It sounded like some sort of distressed animal, though you couldn’t identify what.

Cautiously, you followed the broken whines to a large, half-buried boulder, which seemed to be hiding the source of the sound from your view. The whimpers stopped.

You held your breath, standing as still as you could behind a poplar tree, waiting for another cry. Instead, you could hear a crunch and then the grisly sound of ripping immediately followed muffled snarling. Gradually, you made your way to the boulder and climbed up, peeking your head over to stare at the sight below.

It took all your willpower to not vomit right there and then, as you took in the gruesome scene in front of you. Blood pooled around its body, splattering the bushes nearby and coating its fur. You assumed it to be a wolf, judging by its thick, gray coat and its long snout, which was currently buried in its skinny foreleg. It might’ve been trapped there for days by the looks of it. Its ribs were heavily sunken in and the fur was matted and dirty, probably harboring hundreds of ticks. Pink foam dribbled from the corner of its lips and filthy pus crusted around its dull, yellow eyes. When you craned your neck, you could see that its paw was clamped within a large bear trap, holding it fast. As you watched in dismay, it savagely thrashed its head about with its fractured leg in between its stained teeth, severing the tough tendons and letting out another red spray. The trapped beast let out a howl but continued, nearly all the way through the bone. Fur and flesh tore like paper, and you shuddered in sympathy as it persevered through the agony.

With a burst of effort, the last third of its leg detached and it was free, leaving a bloody, mangled paw in the trap. The poor canine lay there panting for a couple minutes, before struggling onto its three shaking legs. It hobbled away, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

The wolf was free, but at what cost?

Three days later you found the carcass, its eyes blank and lifeless, chunks of its own decomposing flesh still lodged in its teeth. Maggots squirmed and writhed in the stump of its leg, and the flanks of the fallen beast were caved in and rotting. The entire thing stunk like Hell and it was terribly shriveled, but you swallowed your disgust and managed to bury it within a day.

The wolf was gone, but the encounter would be branded into your mind forever. Just like you to the cave if you didn't act.

Growling, you shoved the memory away and tugged at your chains, as if testing to see if it all really wasn’t just a twisted nightmare. How you hoped you would wake up and find yourself curled up next to Black, with his arm around your shoulder and his warm body pressed against yours.

But there was no point in brooding over what could have been. You knew what you needed to do if you ever wanted to see him again. And you didn’t have much time before the waves reached the opening of the cave, so it was now or never.

Adrenaline fueled your body and you searched frantically for a sharp rock. You prayed that your limbs would grow back since your body was always restored back to its original form, but there was no guarantee. But a few limbs were a worthy sacrifice just to be with a God wasn’t it?

A razor-sharp rock was lodged a little farther up ahead, and you strained to reach it. Your fingers brushed against the edge, the cuffs digging painfully into your wrists but with a push, you were able to grab it out of the damp sand at the cost of a little skin from where the enchanted metal dug into your flesh. There was much more to come.

Shuddering in trepidation, you raised a shaking hand poised to strike, directly above your left ankle. Your lips trembled, and your entire body quaked, a sudden tide of nausea flooding through your entire body.

_You can do this Y/n, come on! You’ve felt and done worse._

You screwed your eyes shut, willing your hand to fall but it seemed to be made out of rock, and you couldn’t bring it down. Sweat and tears slid down your face and suddenly the air was so much hotter, almost stifling despite the coolness of the cave. Was this what Hell felt like?

Through your closed eyes, his face suddenly floated into view, those vivid obsidian eyes and the wild, spiky hair. It was the time after your confession, and it still shocked you just how handsome he really was. Black had been smiling, not one of his creepy, sadistic smiles, but a genuine one, flashing pearly-white teeth and his eyes crinkling around the corners. You remembered the feeling of the soft sheets against your skin and the touch of his calloused hands, and just how utterly perfect the world had felt at that moment.

That was the final straw as you opened your eyes and brought down the rock. Excruciating pain exploded upon contact, warm liquid trickling down your leg and splashing your cheek. Gritting your teeth, you brought it down again and again, and somewhere in between the torment, you began screaming. The skin and flesh split easily, but the bone was much more difficult. It took around seven strikes with all your remaining strength to reach the marrow, and by then the sand was stained maroon, and your hands were slippery. Letting out another wail you drove on, until what seemed like hours the last thread of skin was finally separated.

Huffing with tears streaming down your face, you sobbed so hard that your chest felt like it was being slowly compressed by a heavy slab of stone.

“B-black…” you whimpered, knowing no one was there. _How could you leave me like this? Where are you?_

You had but a moment to rest before the dreaded waves forced you to continue on with the amputation. The second leg was very similar to the first, though considerably slower as the adrenaline leaked out of your body and tiredness began to worm its way into your head. You were already hazy with blood loss and you thought you would pass out from the pain, but you didn’t. After that was done, your two arms were the only thing still bound.

Trembling, you set your arm on the ground and began hacking away a couple inches away from the manacle, your accuracy a lot worse than when you had started. Occasionally the rock would miss and glance of the chain or hit some other part of your arm, and the blows wouldn’t cut as deep since you only had the power of one arm, unlike before. But despite that, you kept going until your severed hand thudded into the sand. At last, you were almost free.

Now only one arm remained. You dropped the rock as you brought your last limb to your mouth, and scrunching your eyes shut you bit down as hard as you could, slicing through the skin and lodging into the bone. Then again and again, until you bit through half of it and moved onto the rest. By then, your mind was roiling with agony and exhaustion, wishing desperately for it to be over. Black and red swam in an out of your vision. But mercifully, after a couple more bites the hand and chain thumped onto the sand, and you collapsed on your side, panting like a dog. _I did it, Black._

Water trickled in through the cave opening, seeping through your h/c hair, reminding you of what was to come. You weren’t safe yet and had no intention of drowning again, not after all you had just sacrificed.

You crawled on all fours, horribly slow as you dragged yourself through the sand, which was rapidly softening because of the sea water. It stung like a bitch as the flow increased and trickled into your wounds, but there was no time and no other way. You could already see the shining stars and smell the fresh air as you approached your freedom, and tears of relief and happiness mingled with anguish and despair slid down your cheeks.

Letting out a loud gasp your head made it out of the opening of the cave, the water now up to your neck. _Free! I’m free!_

Using the last bit of your energy to climb a few feet further onto higher grounds, the dreams overtook you and swept you away, into a land where there was no more pain.


	14. Infiltrator

Nimble fingers danced on your soft skin and a pair of loving lips brushed across your shoulder, leaving butterfly kisses all the way down to the middle off your back. Everything was so warm, like you were being blanketed by the sun’s delicate rays on a pillow of fluffy clouds. There was no trace of pain anymore, and you couldn’t even remember what had happened. You could almost believe it was paradise. It felt so comfortable that you didn’t even want to open your eyes, but it seemed that whoever had been kissing you wanted you to. The hand shook you gently, but you ignored it, grunting and shuffling deeper into what felt like fresh sheets. Black’s familiar scent enveloped you, and you pressed backward against the firm body behind you, yearning for more after being apart from him for so long. The memories of what you had done pushed at the corner of your mind, but you resisted. You heard Black let out an exasperated huff behind you, but you were too exhausted to care.  

“Y/n,” he coaxed. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

“But I don’t want to.” You protested weakly, holding the hand on your shoulder. _Just let me sleep…_

You felt him turn you around, his gentle breath grazing your face. Black smoothed a thumb over your cheek and gently pried your eyelids open, capturing you in his dark gaze.

“What is it? Why do you keep looking at me like that Black?” You squirmed nervously under the intensity of his stare, so different from the one that he gave other humans.

He chuckled lightly and pulled you closer until your head was resting in the crook of his neck. “You were so brave,” he murmured, stroking your hair. “It was my fault that bastard took you.”

Black touched your arm and you almost had an aneurysm when you looked down, only to see your arms and legs wrapped in a thick layer of bandages. You gasped and held the stumps up to your face, your lips quaking.

“Where are they? Where are my hands?”

He gave you an odd look before saying, “You cut them off remember?”

The sounds and smells all came rushing back to you, your wounds throbbing at the memories. “So it all wasn’t a dream after all,” you said, trying not to sound too disappointed. “But then what is this? A dream?”

“I don’t know,” Black shrugged, looking far too nonchalant for your taste. “It is whatever you want it to be.”

 _Wow so cryptic_ , you resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

“I really am not,” he said without looking at you.

“What? You can read minds?”

“Who knows?” He replied, a sparkle in his eye that you’ve never seen before. “But never mind that. Where are you?”

“I don’t really know,” You sighed, closing your eyes. “I didn’t get very far before I fell asleep.” There was a long awkward pause, tension crackling in the air like electricity. 

“I’m sorry.” Black whispered, breaking the silence. 

 _Was that regret in his voice?_ You were suddenly enveloped by his warmth, and it took a second for you to realize that he was actually hugging you. _Him_ , the bane of the human race, scourge of the universe, harbinger of destruction, Goku Black. Your eyes embarrassingly began to water, and you clutched the dark cloth of his _gi_ , trembling like a leaf caught in the wind.

_Black really has changed, hasn’t he? But then, so have I. And maybe not entirely for the better._

“Why did it have to be this way?” You sniffled, desperately fighting back treacherous tears. You should have been happy to be alive, and yet it felt so wrong.

“What way?” He pulled back, and you found yourself missing the comfort of his body as if part of you had suddenly disappeared.

“It’s just when you think about it, there’s no way we could ever be together, even if we both want to.”

“Who said I wanted to?” His eyes flashed, and whatever had been there before had been blocked by the cold, hard wall of indifference, but you were so used to it that you took it as a grain as salt.

“I-I wasn’t planning on this.” He made a vague gesture with his hand towards you, the other rubbing his face. “I thought maybe you could be useful, and since neither of us could dispose of you, I was just going to keep you temporarily.”

You opened your mouth to retort, but he interrupted before you could give him a piece of your mind. “That was the plan. But then…..” Black trailed off.

“But what?”

“I thought maybe you weren’t so bad. Maybe….we could have a future together. The universe does seem kind of bleak with only two people left in it, and Zamasu isn’t the best companion.”

“I’m flattered, but if you didn’t want to be alone in the universe, then why did you kill everyone?” The guilt and sadness that you had pushed to the back of your mind came rushing back, how you had left the rest of the humans to fend for themselves against the two terrors, and how you even became infatuated with one of them. Stockholm Syndrome really was a bitch sometimes.

The more you thought about it, the angrier you became, and you had to resist the intense urge to slap him across the face, but you knew that wouldn’t do anything. It was still all a dream, and he was most likely a thousand miles away from you. And as you were constantly being reminded, Black was leagues beyond anyone else, and there wasn't much you could do against him. 

“I still don’t understand why, Black! You didn’t have to kill all those people! They were living beings, just like me! Like you!” His impassive stare was driving you crazy, like he didn’t care or understand at all why you were causing such a ruckus over the lives he probably considered to be worthless.

“Impurities deserved to be purged, Y/n. You should understand that by now.” Black pried your hands off, his grip leaving deep bruises on your wrists. It frustrated you to no end; one moment he was soft and gentle and the next he had reverted back to the bloodthirsty sociopath who cared for nothing but death and war.

“So….do you think I should have been purged?” You looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. “Is that what you think of me? An impurity that deserves to die?”

He hesitated for a moment, and your heart felt as if it was about to burst aflame.

“No, of course not. You wouldn’t be alive if you were, would you?” Black lifted your chin with his thumb, swiping away your tears. You hadn’t even realized you had been crying all this time, but your dignity had been long gone to even give a fuck.

“But how could you judge who should live and who should die? How could you understand creatures you had never even interacted with, who you had never cared to know?”

Black’s gaze darkened, and you knew he was looking at something you couldn’t see. “Oh but I have Y/n, more than you know. It’s you who never knew them. In a world with no God, sometimes you just have to make your own. Someone has to step in and become the God that the universe so desperately needs, and I just happened to be there. You humans think you know everything, yet there is so much you are blind to.”

“Like what Black?” You argued. “Like how there could have been beings like you, who would slaughter the innocent for a future that you can’t even see?” You knew you were playing a dangerous game since he could snap your neck without batting an eye. At first you thought he was going to strike you, and it would have been no surprise if he had, but he seemed to tamper down his emotions, chuckling softly. It scared you.

“Oh but I can.”

_What?_

“How?” You demanded.

“You’re so stubborn Y/n, but maybe this will help you understand.” He grabbed your hand in his and you had to resist jerking away, but before you could say anything the intricate silver ring he always wore flashed a brilliant light and the ground disappeared from under your feet.

The scenery swirled and changed before it finally materialized into a solid picture, and your eyes widened in horror when you realized what you were looking at. Monstrous, orange beasts were hacking at each other with large clubs, their brains and blood flowing like streamers through the air and painting the trees and mountains red. Roars and screams cut through the air as they killed each other senselessly, the sound burrowing deep into your ear canals and reverberating deep inside your head like beating drums.

“Why are they killing each other?” You gasped, grasping the God’s arm tightly as you floated above the fray, looking down upon the bloodbath.

He merely pointed at the center of the war-torn village, where most of the fighting was. A massive, rotten fish was impaled over a dying fire as the beasts desperately fought for a bite of its flesh, shoving and hitting each other brutally. As you watched, one tore the head of another with its savage, pointed teeth, tossing the decapitated body part into the woods, blood spraying everywhere.

“They're fighting over that?!”

“Yes,” Black replied calmly as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “But look at their future in a thousand years.”

Once again, the world began to dissolve before it materialized again. Everything was on fire and crumbling into ruin. A space pod flew over your head, smoking and tumbling wildly through the air, before crashing into a dingy, abandoned building. You could see the creatures from before scampering about below, looking far worse for the wear than before.

“What is this?” You asked Black, eyes watering from the thick smoke and embers. He looked down, a triumphant smile etched across his face.

“It’s merely the future Y/n. It’s no different than what would have happened if I had revealed myself as the God who would bring a perfect paradise upon this wretched universe.”

“If it’s no different then why would you interfere?!” You glared at him.

“Because I give their deaths meaning. Without me, they are nothing but a bunch of greedy mortals fighting and dying only for themselves. I-” Black was cut off as his image shuddered, and his face seemed to distort and blur. He seemed to be resisting but slowly losing the battle. “I don’t have much time Y/n!”

“But-”

“I don’t have time to discuss this!” He snarled. “I just need to know where you are!”

“Black!”

“NOW!” He howled, and his entire body spasmed and he began to fade. “The connection is being broken! I can’t stay with you much longer!”

“Fine! I’m by some underground cave by an ocean but I don’t know exactly where-”

The Saiyan disappeared. You could only hope that he had heard what you said but you had no time to worry before the world began to spin and darken. All the breath seemed to be sucked out of your lungs and your body felt as if you were tumbling through a dark, endless void.

And then you woke up to the sound of your own screaming.


	15. An Unlikely Allegiance

“Dammit!” Black cursed loudly as the stone hedge he had been sheltering under exploded into a thousand pieces, breaking the connection with you in your dreams. It felt as if something had been roughly unplugged, leaving a dark void within his soul. Trunks rushed towards him; the teenager’s face drenched in so much blood that it was a wonder that he could see anything at all.

“BLACK!” He screamed, a sound so inhuman that it hurt the God’s ears. The boy tore through the sky towards him, but the God made no move to get out of the way, instead patiently waiting with a sardonic grin on his face.

Flipping rapidly onto his side just as the Super Saiyan was about to ram into him, Trunks was met with a face full of dirt as he collided head first like a human rocket, causing a shower of dirt, rocks, and the occasional slimy earthworm to explode into the sky. One of the fat, miserable creatures landed in the black-haired Saiyan’s wild mane, and he shook it off with disgust, incinerating it within his palm. The urge to purge the Earth flooded through him, and his eyes flashed a mauve hue, barely able to contain his anger.

_Mortal realms were disgusting._

Perhaps that’s why he had attached himself to you, he needed something truly beautiful to anchor himself to his sanity in such an ugly world. And out of all the beings he had met in his long life, you were by far the most interesting. Something about you captivated him far more than it should, and even he didn’t know exactly how to describe it. But it was enchanting nonetheless. Which made him all the more desperate.

“That’s enough!” He grabbed ahold of the boy’s head, pressing him hard into the dirt as he flailed his limbs wildly, growling like a beast.

“I don’t have anything to listen to you for!” Trunks spat, doubling his efforts to free himself.

“Shut your worthless mouth and listen closely,” Black bent down close next to him. “I have a plan.”

“I don’t give a damn about anything you come up with, you murderer!” Trunks flung back an arm, cracking it across Black’s face. A spurt of blood came from his nose, and he let out a snarl of pain, grinding the heel of his dirty boot into the younger Saiyan’s back.

“You insolent fool! Do you want to find Y/n or not?”

At the sound of your name Trunks immediately stopped struggling, as if under a spell.

“What?”

“You heard me correctly.”

A bright orb of silver flew past Black’s face as he narrowly dodged it, turning to glare at the perpetrator.

“Sorry to interrupt one of your little chats,” Zamasu smirked. “But I’m not done with either of you.”

“Oh go to Hell!” Trunks directed an energy blast towards the ground, blasting out from under the God’s heel. Sword met energy blade as they resumed clashing, and soon the third joined in.

He needed to talk to Trunks. Now. At this rate they would all end up destroying each other, and then what?

Black hated it. He absolutely loathed the feeling of being so concerned for the wellbeing of another living thing; it was so tiring. Maybe that was why mortals never lived for very long. _Well, fate was cruel_ , he chuckled to himself. But now was not the time for that. He needed to separate Trunks from Zamasu, but how?

A grin slowly crept up his face as he remembered you, it was always you. They had chained you against the wall with energy cuffs, and now Zamasu would feel the same helplessness that you had all those weeks.

_What perfect irony._

“Zamasu!” Black roared, tackling the treacherous deity from the sky and flying him against a nearby mountain, Trunks watching in disbelief but making no movement to stop him.

“What the Hell Black?!” Zamasu raged, but to no avail. He might’ve been immortal, but he was no match for Son Goku’s strength. The only thing advantage he had was durability, and it would come to curse him the same way it had cursed you.

The shackles materialized and cracked into place, chaining him to the mountain like Prometheus to a rock.

“I’ll kill you, you traitor!” Zamasu threatened, his white mohawk in disarray and his clothes torn and ragged. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he berated his former partner with colorful obscenities, which went completely ignored.

“I’ll see you later,” Black leered at him, before flying away to find Trunks.

He found Earth’s hero waiting for him with narrowed eyes, his sword gleaming in the sunlight, splattered with blood. Some of which was Black’s blood. He fought back the rising revulsion of what he was planning to do, but as much as he hated Trunks, it would be simpler for yours and their own sakes to just call it a draw and find you. If they didn’t, they would continue to beat each other senseless, and it would be more work for him, even if he was sure of his victory. All he wanted was to find you as fast as possible.

 _But one day_ , Black vowed. _One day that cursed half-breed dies._

But not today.

If only you could see how much he was willing to give up for you.

 _I really am turning soft_ , Black thought bitterly. However, that was a problem for another day. If he waited any longer, he might actually combust into a fiery explosion of fury and death.

“Alright Trunks, as much as I hate it, we’ll have to continue this on some other day.”

“Oh believe me, I’m willing to finish this fight here and now,” the blue-haired teenager retorted, brandishing his bloodied sword.

“Put that damn piece of trash down before I bend your spine in half!” Black snarled, aura pulsing a familiar pink.

Trunks unwillingly lowered his sword, reminding himself that it was for you. As long as they could get you back safe, that was all that mattered.

“Fine,” Trunks ground out. “What do you want with me?”

“I need you to stay back and guard Zamasu while I go search for Y/n.”

“What?! No! If anyone’s going to find her it’s going to be me!” Trunks argued, lurching forward.

“I don’t think your tiny brain would be capable of finding her, and besides you’re weaker. I could find her faster.” Their faces were inches apart, each feeling the hot breaths of the other.

“I’m not the one staying behind! I know her better! And you know that green, over-sized elf better than I do!”

“Why’s she so important to you?” Black snapped, his chest tightening.

Was that…. _jealously_? Whatever it was, he didn’t like it, not one bit.

“That’s what I should be asking you!” Trunks shot back. “Why the Hell are you so desperate to get her back?!”

Black didn’t reply, his eyes darkening.

“Well? Answer me!” Trunks spat.

“It’s none of your damn business!” Black roared, struggling to control his impatience.

“Why should I trust a murderer like you?”

“I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m telling you to use that foolish head of yours for one minute and stop nipping at my heels! Believe me, I would gladly kill you any day, but right now we both have other things to worry about! So shut your blabbering mouth and listen! If you refuse to stay behind and come with me, then you will not slow me down. If you do, I'll snap that skinny neck of yours. So either you come or you stay behind. I'm not about to spend more of my precious time debating with a brat like you.”

“…..Fine! We'll both go! But only because it’s Y/n, and don’t think that when we find her I’m just going to let you take her and leave!”

“I didn’t plan on you letting me,” Black sneered viciously.

“Then we’ve come to an understanding.” Trunks forced down the bile rising in his throat. _Oh God, I’m actually gonna team up with this psychopath, but it’s for Y/n. It’s the least I could do._

“So, what do we do with that friend of yours?”

Ten minutes later Zamasu was bound and caged inside a glowing, magenta prison deep within the heart of the mountain, where they could hear his echoing protests growing weaker and weaker as they flew off into the sunset.

Karma sure was a bitch.


	16. The Forest

The large oak trees creaked eerily as you weakly made your way through the forest. The wind whistled maliciously through their dry branches, and you could almost imagine that they were whispering about trapping you within their depths forever. The sun was beginning to set, and you didn’t know how much longer you could go on before collapsing. Blisters covered your feet and your skin felt dry from constantly being battered by the sand and bitter breeze from all the time you spent on the beach shore. If you didn’t find shelter soon, you would probably end up freezing or being torn apart by some ferocious animal.

There was only a sliver of the setting sun that peeked through the tops of the trees, illuminating the leaves a shining gold. But you knew that peace was merely a delusion. Anything could happen at a moment’s notice, and you were still weak from spending so much energy regenerating from the amputations. 

It had since been two days when Black had slithered into your dreams and you began to wonder where he was. The creeping feeling of rejection began to wrap its cold claws around your heart, but he wouldn’t leave you after all that, would he?

_Come on Y/n, this is no time to acting like a lovestruck schoolgirl_ , you scolded yourself.

First things first, you needed shelter. Preferably somewhere high, away from the ground and predators and where Black could easily see you if he flew by, though you didn’t expect him to. Still, it was worth a shot.

Swiveling your head, none of the trees seemed inhabitable at all. In fact, they were kind of unsettling. Maybe it was the light playing tricks on you or something, but the trunks seemed to be filled with twisted, sneering faces. Some seemed mournful, while others looked as if they wanted to tear you apart. There was no way in Hell you were going to sleep anywhere near this part of the forest.

Shivering, you continued to trudge on.

A sudden thought popped into your head when you remembered that dream during which Black had come to comfort you shortly after escaping from Zamasu’s watery torture. Perhaps you would be able to contact Black again and let him know where you were. But you weren’t exactly sure how it worked, and to be honest, neither did he. It was still better than nothing, however. You just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

_Black? Black!_ You shouted hesitantly in your mind, picking up the pace to a slight jog, ignoring the aching in your soles. You tried to reach out with your mind as far as you could, until your head began to hurt from the effort.

No response.

_Hello? Black?_

You nearly tripped over an exposed root, losing your balance when you tried to catch yourself only to have your hand fall through some puffy brown fungi, its dark green ooze sucking at your fingers. It looked and smelled like a pile of animal dung.

_EW GROSS!!!_ You screamed internally, not wanting to attract some unwanted carnivores that might be lurking around.

_Y/n? Who’re you calling gross?_ A sultry voice purred in your head, and it felt as if a switch had been flicked on.

_Black?! Is that you!_ You responded ecstatically, not even minding the sticky goo covering your hand when you yanked it out of the plant. _How is this even possible?_

_I’m not exactly sure myself. I knew instinctively how to do it with Zamasu, but I never would have thought that you would be able to contact me. I’m guessing it’s triggered by strong emotions._

He paused for a second. _More importantly, where are you?_

You had never been so happy to hear his voice in your entire life, breaking out into a run as you continued searching for shelter.

_I don’t know I-_

Something heavy slammed against your nose, bringing you to a complete halt and throwing you to the ground, and the connection was suddenly lost. Cursing to yourself when you realized you had run into a tree; Black’s voice was gone.

_Shit!_ You banged your fist on the ground and his voice suddenly appeared again.

_I guess I was right about the strong emotions_ , he chuckled softly. _What happened?_

_I ran into a tree…._ Your face flushed crimson despite your loneliness. The embarrassment confused you, but you had long since stopped questioning it. There was no use in fighting back your feelings now, you were in far too deeply to go back. Black too, though he didn’t want to admit it.

_Oh. How clumsy._ His voice returned, and even if you couldn’t see him you knew that he was probably smiling at your foolishness.

It sounded so real, like he was right there, which made you even more desperate to see him again. You could almost see his shining black eyes and his sharp jawline, and those soft locks that you loved so much.

_Where are you?_ Black repeated gently, snapping you out of your daydreams.

_I walked East from the cave and I’m stuck in a forest right now. I’m headed North._

The trees seemed to get less crowded and threatening as you walked, and they eventually began to thin. After about half a mile, they weren’t so tall and dense anymore, and you could actually see the pink sky above you, occasionally broken by thin leafy branches.

Here, you could actually hear the sound of crickets and the pleasant chirping of birds, though the sounds began to cease as the sun dropped lower, and the pale moon began to rise. 

_Find any place suitable yet_? Black asked inside your head. Though you didn’t know it, he was worried.

_No, not yet. Though I’m pretty sure I’m close._

You felt a lot better now that he was here, even if it wasn’t physically. Being alone hadn’t really bothered you before, since you lived all by yourself in the middle of nowhere. But maybe that was because you had been around people for so long that you had gotten sick of them. Now that you hadn’t seen any in so long, you were beginning to miss the closeness of another being.

_There’s no point in sulking about it now_ , you chided yourself.

_What?_ Black’s voice interrupted you again.

_Oh nothing._

You heard him scoff. _Well find somewhere to sleep soon,_ he murmured.

_I know, I know._

Leaves crunched under your feet as you continued to search, before coming to a stop in front of a medium sized oak tree with winding branches and fluffy leaves. Best of all, in the middle of the thick boughs you could see a slight indent the perfect size for a bed. The leaves could shelter you if it rained, which it probably would by the looks of the gathering storm clouds, and it wasn’t so tall as if you would be trapped if you had to descend quickly. Delicate white flowers dotted the green, their sweet scent calling to you.

_I found one_ , you relayed happily back to Black.

His end had been silent for the past few minutes, and you wondered if he had gone again before his soothing voice appeared.

_That’s good, I’m on my way. I-_

He was suddenly cut off, leaving you with a heavy silence.

_Black?!_ You called out to him, heart pounding.

His presence returned as quickly as it had gone. _Shit! I have to take care of something! Just stay where you are! I’ll come find you I promise-_

You felt him fade into the darkest recesses of your mind, and eventually he disappeared entirely. There was nothing to do except pray that he would be okay, though he sounded more annoyed than anything.

Shaking your head, you began scaling the tree as the wind began to howl, bending the wooden limbs and smacking them across your face. A stampede of large, black storm clouds were moving rapidly towards your position, the rumbling of thunder accompanying it like a thousand hooves in the night. The occasional lightning bolt curled rigidly around the clouds, painting the trees a glaring white. The sun had been overtaken by the moon, and the noises of the forest followed the absence of the light.

Letting out a loud gasp, you collapsed in a small ball in the middle of the indention, which was luckily cushioned by a lush pool of luminescent moss and surprisingly clean sparing a few dried up twigs. Though you couldn’t see him, you knew he was thinking about you. You didn’t exactly know how, you just knew that he was.

Never in your entire life would you have guessed that you would have ever given your heart to a man like Black, and even more, that he would return your affections.

_Maybe he’s not so bad after all……_ you grinned at nothing in particular. You seemed to do it a lot around Black, it had basically become instinctive. No one had ever made you gladder to be alive than he had, though most other humans couldn't say the same.

The serenity was only broken by the distant bellowing of thunder, and the darkness began to weigh into your mind, and pressing down your exhausted eyelids. Right before you drifted off to sleep, you could almost feel Black’s strong hand stroking your face.

_I’ll be waiting for you Black, I would wait an eternity._ You tried to tell him in your mind, though you didn’t know if he could still hear you.

And from across the ocean, Black smiled. He pushed on with a burst of speed, looking forward to the day he could finally touch you again.

It wouldn’t be long now.


	17. Red Lights

It was the smell of smoke that woke you up first. Then the frantic chittering and trampling of undergrowth as various animals rushed passed your tree, squirrels, deer, and even wolves. They all ran towards the same direction, away from North, where you were originally headed. You were so confused by the sight that you failed to notice the red claws drawing nearer and nearer, rapidly consuming everything in its path.

It was only until you realized that they were running from something that you finally turned your head, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. Then it hit you. There had been no rain during your slumber, there was only the sound of thunder and the crackling of lighting. Of course. It hadn’t been a rainstorm. It had been an electrical storm. And you were in a forest, surrounded by tall trees. Shit.

Everything was on fire.

The flames licked at the treetops, quickly approaching your hideout.

_Oh fuck!_ You leaped out of the branches, hitting the ground hard and sprinting away immediately, not wasting a single second. There was no time to contact Black, and even if you could, there was no way you would be able to concentrate on escaping the fire and talking to him at the same time. As if it couldn’t get any worse, a bolt of electricity split the tree not too far from you, and it burst aflame. You could feel some of the aftershock coursing through your body, but it passed eventually.

Focusing blurrily on the shapes running past you, you followed in their footsteps, hoping one of those massive canines wouldn’t become hungry.

A large force suddenly shoved you off your feet, causing you to crack your forehead against a boulder jutting from the green grass. Well, it wouldn’t be green for much longer. The air seemed to dim around you, and everything began to swirl and blend together. The smoke invaded your nose and crept through your lungs, where it nestled like a dark gray cat, mauling and biting at your insides.

Ignoring the pounding in your head and your fading vision, you grasped onto the trunk of a tree and tried to force yourself into a standing position, a hand clasped firmly over your gasping mouth.

Well, you had never been burned to death before, but you weren’t exactly eager to experience it firsthand. It seemed as if all the forces of nature were after you, first drowning, now burning. What was next, a goddamn tornado?!

_When will I ever catch a break?!_ You thought irritably as a mouse jumped over your shoes.

Even after about two days of rest, your body was still recovering from your escape from the underground prison on the beach, and the lightning strike definitely didn’t help. 

_Oh Black, where are you?_

That’s when you caught the sound of splintering trees followed by a deep bellow. You turned your head to be met with a massive elk, barreling through the fiery vegetation towards you, giving you a crazy idea. Stepping to the side to avoid being trampled, you waited until the colossal creature had galloped next to you before jumping and looping your arms around its neck, and holding on until it ran past another tree and pushing yourself off the trunk and onto the elk’s back.

It let out a snort but didn’t seem to be particularly interested in bucking you off, too busy trying to outrun death. Hopefully, it wouldn’t end up electrocuted, but it was the only plan you could come up with on the spot.

“Black!” You hollered as you bounced on the elk, trying to keep your head from spinning and throwing you off. “Black!”

It leaped clumsily over a fallen log and you were nearly sent flying, clutching onto its rough, thick fur for dear life.

_Can’t I have one fucking day of peace?!_ You lamented silently. Life was constantly throwing curveballs at you as of late, more than the past decade combined; first, you had been trapped in that godforsaken torture cave, then the entire forest decided to set itself on fire, and then you got electrocuted and your getaway rested on a weakening elk that was beginning to stumble and huff.

If you had been able to fully recover all your energy, you would have been able to signal to Black with your _chi_ , but you were still too weak.

Every time you turned your head, the fire crept closer and closer, until you were barely outrunning it by more than a couple meters. No matter how much you tried to spur on your ride, it had inhaled to much smoke just like you and it was wobbling badly on its spindly legs. The poor thing looked like it was about to pass out any minute, and then you’d both be goners. Trees began to fall as the fire consumed them, and the smoke was so thick you could barely see. Most of the animals seemed to have evacuated, though every now and then you would see a small critter or so lying dead, caught by the gaping maws of death.

A weak squeal suddenly caught your attention, coming from a bit farther up ahead and to your right. As you approached, you realized that it was a brown boar, a juvenile by the looks of it. Its hooves scratched at the dirt as it tried to free its foot from a hole underneath a twisted root, the noises getting softer and softer by the second, before it mournfully put its head down to accept its demise.

You looked down at the wheezing elk, white foam crusting its lips and water glazing its wide, frightened eyes. Your brows furrowed before giving its neck a quick pat, steeling yourself to jump off. It would be able to flee faster without your weight, and there was no point in you both dying. And perhaps you would be able to save the boar. You, out of everyone understood the fear of death, and there wasn’t any end much worse than burning to a crisp, alone and terrified.

_Well, it’s always a good time to try something new_ , you managed to scoff dryly at your own joke. _It’s not like I can die anyways_.

Sprinting to the trapped animal, you began to furiously dig around its hoof, and it began its struggles began anew as the boar came to realize that it still had a chance at surviving. You ripped at the hard roots that curled around its leg, gritting your teeth against the pain as your flesh tore at the force. If you had been at full health you could have snapped them like ropes, but alas, there was no use wishing for something that wasn’t there. Next time you saw Zamasu, you’d shove his balls down his throat and then watch him choke on it.

“Just a little more,” You puffed, sweat dripping down your face. Your lungs were in agony, and your eyes felt just as bad. Everything hurt like Hell, but there was nothing you could do about it.

The first fingers of the flames began to lap at your sleeve, causing the boar to get even more hysterical and continue to fling dirt back at an accelerated pace.

Finally, you were able to wriggle its foot free and it sped off, leaving you covered in ashes and grime. Crawling away from the approaching flames, you didn’t even get a chance to catch your breath before pulling yourself to your feet and staggering away from a horrible roasting. Mind reeling, you could barely see over the torrent of tears the fire forced out of your eyes.

You were so focused on limping away that you didn’t notice the loud groan of a blackened tree, falling towards you. By the time you were able to realize something was wrong, it was too late.

It fell with a thud onto your back, completely crushing your legs and back under its weight. You didn’t even have the energy to scream anymore, the heat and smog had made you nearly delirious. The dead tree had paralyzed everything below your lower back, so at least there was no pain.

It almost felt nice not to feel anything anymore, though through your closing eyes everything was being swallowed by the fire and being painted red or black. How you had come to hate the color red.

_Black….._ You managed to whisper weakly inside your rapidly failing consciousness. _Black….please help….me….Look for…..red lights…._

The last thing you saw was the cloudless open night sky as the trees fell around you and two dark shapes began closing in on you, one with familiar black tufts and the other with light blue hair, unable to hear their voices as they cried for you.


	18. Reunion

Black and Trunks had just passed between two large, jagged mountains after seven hard hours of unsuccessful scouting. They had checked every beach and forest they had come near, yet there was still no sign of you or traces of Zamasu’s magic. And since they couldn’t rely on your _chi_ which had weakened significantly since your escape, the best they could do was look by hand, which didn’t provide a very fast recovery.

“Black! Look!” Trunks’ frantic call snapped Black out of his thoughts as they continued to zoom through the air. “Is that a fire?”

_She said red lights………_ He wondered. _Could she have meant……_

You had fainted before he could think up a reply, and no matter how hard he tried he was still unable to communicate telepathically with you. His eyes widened when he finally figured out your cryptic plea for help.

Black could see it. Billowing clouds of smoke and flashes of bright white lightning just up ahead, in a thick-wooded forest.

“She’s there!” Black shouted frenziedly, shooting past the confused teenager.

“What?! How would you know?!”

“Just shut up and follow me fool! There’s no time to explain!” Black hollered back, not keeping his eyes away from the wildfire.

“Y/n? Y/n!” There was no response that could be heard from the chaos below.

Two pairs of keen eyes scanned the hellish forest floor, searching for any sign of you as they flew in circles barely above reach of the scorching heat.

“Look!” Trunks shouted, pointing triumphantly at a dot in the crumbling undergrowth. “It’s Y/n!”

They both dove to you at the same time, Black overtaking Trunks as his heart beat furiously against his ribcage. The smoke didn’t affect his keen senses in the slightest, but it was still hard for the once heartless God to breathe.

From their position, all the two warriors could see was only half your body, splayed out underneath a heavy blackened trunk. Bright red tongues lapped at your skin, but you didn’t appear to be moving.

“Shit!”

Black reached you first, tossing the gigantic tree of you like it weighed nothing, which it probably did to him at least. He grabbed you and cradled you in his arms, Trunks beginning to protest until he saw the state of your legs.

“That’s going to hurt, even if she is immortal,” Trunks winced in sympathy. “It’s a good thing she’s knocked out cold, and even better that we have a Senzu Bean.”

“Let’s get her out of here first,” Black murmured, relief flooding through him once he saw the slight rising and falling of your chest. He rubbed a bit of soot of your face and adjusted you a bit in his arms, forgetting Trunks who was watching in disbelief. Something flitted in his eye when he looked at you, but it was gone so fast that Trunks wasn’t able to completely discern what it was.

_Can Black really be….Is that why he wanted Y/n back so badly? No, it can’t be, can it? He a psychopathic murderer!_

Thoughts swirled like a hurricane in his brain making him slightly light-headed, and Black must have noticed as Trunks began to sway on his feet. Even Saiyans weren’t completely immune to fire.

“We should get the Hell out of here before you pass out too, and if you do, I’m leaving you here,” Black snapped, roughly shaking him from his astonishment. There were a time and a place, but here was neither of those.

“Come on!” Black sprung off into the sky, the confused teenager following shakily behind, mind still reeling.

“We’ll stop here,” The older Saiyan commanded with a tone that called for no objections as he descended into one of the most habitable caves in the twin peaks they had just passed. Throughout the entire flight Trunks hadn’t dared to utter a single word, not even looking at him. They placed you on the floor, cushioning your head with Trunks’ sword and Black’s sash, using the boy’s jacket as a blanket. It wasn’t the best, but it was still much better than absolutely nothing. If Trunks wasn’t here, then Black would have preferred to keep you in his lap, where you could be warmer and safer, but there was no way he was going to do that with Earth’s mightiest hero glaring at him like a hawk. Even slightly burnt by the fire, he was still dangerous. Some of the skin on Trunks’ hand had been seared off when they had touched down, but that wouldn’t stop him from grabbing his sword.

“What, cat got your tongue?” Black jeered once you were settled in, and suddenly Trunks’ hatred returned. Or more specifically, sprung back to the surface. It had never left. Even now his mother’s death still hurt.

“Yeah what-” His voice began to grow louder until the oncoming argument was halted by your frail moan of discomfort.

“Just get the damn Senzu,” Black growled lowly, his onyx eyes mere stormy slits.

Trunks closed his jaw with an audible snap, and clenching his fists, he forced himself to calm down, at least until you had healed a little. Digging around his dirty Capsule Corp jacket, his fingers closed around the last Senzu.

Gently, he pried open your dry lips with one hand while the other held your head, and managed to slip the bean inside your mouth without choking you. Your face relaxed and you appeared to go limp in his hands, a small smile twitching at the corner of Trunks’ mouth as he stared at you in solace. Black had to physically restrain himself from attacking the boy when he saw that Trunks was touching what was rightfully his, though he knew you would disapprove if you were awake.

_I just have to deal with him a little longer_ , Black told himself, struggling to contain his composure. They were one word away from continuing their fight, and your presence was the only thing stopping them.

For now, all they could do was to wait for you to rest up enough to fly back to Zamasu. There were too many things that needed to be sorted out, and frankly, Trunks wondered if they would ever be able to untangle the spider’s web of murder and secrets. After returning you to your former position, Trunks slid as far away from Black as possible while still being close enough to keep an eye on you, sitting against the wall with one tired eye open. Like Black, he had to suppress the impulse to spring to action when he saw the spiky-haired God scoot closer to you, though not yet touching.

Though his feelings for you weren’t the same as Black’s, his survival this far was partly owing to you, saving his life multiple times. Over time, he had come to think of you as one of his closest friends, on par with Mai. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep you safe much like Black, though the idea that that serial killer had his sights set on you made his insides riot.

As hard as Trunks fought to stay awake, he finally lost to the alleviating lull of sleep’s velvety wings, whisking him off into another dimension. Black waited until the hero’s head hit his chest before moving over to you, losing all interest in Trunks when he glanced over at your moonlit figure.

Even after everything you had been through you still looked to him the same as the day he had first met you, more alluring than any being in the universe. Sliding his fingers into your h/c locks, he began untangling all the knots and picking out the bits of leaves from your hair. The silver moonshine framed your face beautifully, and even with all the soot and wounds on you it made you no less appealing to him.

After all this time he was still unsure what caused him to obsess over you, and at this point he didn’t really care anymore. Love was still a foreign emotion to the lonely God, and even in his youth he had never experienced anything remotely like it. At this moment he wasn’t really sure what he felt for you, Hell, it might not even be love. Whatever it was, it inexplicably drew him to you. Black used to try to convince himself that it was because you were technically immortal and one of the only females left who genuinely didn’t make him vomit when he touched them, but now he knew that it was a complete lie to justify his attraction. Your immortality had nothing to do with it, though it definitely made things a whole lot less complicated. Or maybe it was the feeling of not wanting to be alone for the rest of eternity, once the Zero Mortal Plan had been completed, though he would never admit it to anyone.

However, none of those seemed to play as big as a factor as the fact that you were simply different, unusually kind and capable of just enjoying life as it is, and not constantly seeking for more as he’d seen many other beings do, wasting their life away to obtain something they could never reach.

He hated vanity, something the earth was sweltering with, and something that you seemed to be nearly or even completely devoid of. And best of all, you didn’t seem to despise him, even after everything he had put you through, and Black had certainly given you numerous reasons to. Despite these feelings, there was still occasionally the irrational, terrible urge to kill every human being in the vicinity, which usually meant you. But he managed to restrain himself every time, avoiding your presence and venting on something else. The old Zamasu had not completely dominated and the lingering presence of Son Goku was not quite gone. They molded together to form someone entirely knew, Goku Black. He knew he wasn’t either men, but still it felt like his soul and body were at war sometimes. It frightened him, that maybe one day the good Saiyan’s presence would win and turn him soft, but worst of all was the thought that perhaps Zamasu’s hateful habits would overbear all reason and he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from wounding you. Though you couldn’t die, he was sure the Zamasu he had once been could find a way to make it living Hell for you.

Even now, when everything was calm for once, he could still feel the war raging on inside him. There was no doubt whatsoever that he wanted you, but his morals were battling against that desire. Son Goku’s morality and Zamasu’s ambition, that was made them different, and that was what made him. It was true that he was a deity in a mortal body, but someone as strong as the kind-hearted Saiyan would not let his body go completely, especially when it was taken and used in such a manner. It was something so simple even the people of earth could understand. A different environment could produce two versions of the same person, and Goku’s body was a different environment in a sense. And it had changed him.

_But I’m neither of them_ , Black assured himself. _I still hate humans. That’s for sure and it always will be, I wouldn’t want to like them anyways. But there is one I can tolerate._

That’s what split him from Zamasu. That one exception that the Kai could not make.

You.

And the Zamasu inside him howled in fury.

“You should see how you make me, Y/n.” Black exhaled, placing his head next to yours, clenching his eyes shut.

To his surprise, one of your e/c orbs opened slightly, focusing on his features.

“I know, Black.”

His breath hitched in his throat, and he seemed at loss for words. “You should go back to sleep,” he lied. No, that was the last thing he wanted after being apart from you for so long that he had missed the sound of your voice.

“I can’t,” You murmured back, entwining his hand in yours, to which he stared at in shock and maybe even a little discomfort. “I can’t while people are dying.”

“You know exactly why they’re dying Y/n; they’re dying for paradise.”

“Oh Black, I know that you have a good goal in mind but there are better ways to do things than by killing everyone. As much as I appreciate your ambition, I don’t think this is the right way to get there.”

He gave you no response, instead just continued to gaze into your eyes.

“You really believe that, huh?” Black grumbled, you could tell that he was irritated but it was better than before when he would become physically aggressive every time something ticked him off. It didn’t matter what it was, if a branch hit him in the face he would blow up the tree, and if it was raining when he didn’t want it to then he could disperse the clouds with special _chi_ blasts. It was even more violent with humans, in which case he had no mercy. You were the only exception to his purposeful brutality, and you were borderline a deity with human blood. And even then, he had broken your nose or hand multiple times on accident when you startled him. He never meant to hurt you those times, but violence seemed to be ingrained into his muscles.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of debate, you realized there was no point in arguing with him over mortals at this time, and especially when you were still very feeble. He could either remain silent for days or argue for hours, and usually there was no in-between.

“Anyways,” You tried steering the topic away from mass genocide, and onto a slightly less gruesome subject. “I never thought you would team up with Trunks.”

Black just huffed and looked away from you, muttering something about half-breeds under his breath. “That persistent little brat wouldn’t fucking leave me alone,” he growled. “I can still kill him though.”

“No!” You grabbed his shirt as he began to raise his arm, slapping his glowing hand out of the air. Immediately tensing up when you realized what you did, you scrunched your eyes shut in case he decided to hit you. Instead, all you got was a light smack to the head and opening his eyes, you could see him smirking.

“I’m not going to hit you, Y/n. You remember what happened last time.”

Back then, he had tried to surprise you by punching you, a little bit too eagerly, and ended up nearly breaking your entire torso. Sometimes he didn’t even know his own strength, and more specifically Goku’s. When he had first hijacked the body, their cabin would be filled with constant noise when everything he touched shattered into a million pieces, notably several sets of tea cups, chairs, and doors. Zamasu had become so angry that he had forced his partner outside for a day to learn to control his strength, which was part of the reason why there was a sparse space of empty land surrounding the cabin. It wasn’t noticeable, but upon closer inspection quite a number of the trunks were mutilated from his “gentle” practice.

“I know you would never hurt me on purpose, Black.” You reassured him, “I trust you.”

He was taken by your sheer innocence, and sullenly wondered how you could ever have been born in a world like this. It just wasn’t fair, but life never was.

A yawn forced its way past your lips, capturing Black’s attention.

“You should go to sleep Y/n, the faster you recover the sooner we can return and sort this whole mess out,” Black hummed tenderly against your cheek.

“But I-” You tried to protest, though it was promptly muffled against his chest when he pulled you closer.

“No buts. Sleep, now.” His grip tightened around your back, letting you know that there was no room for arguments.

It wasn’t over yet and you both knew it, but frankly you didn’t have enough energy to care at the moment. Giving up once you realized there was no point in arguing with him, you soon fell asleep in his arms, lulled by the rhythmic thumping of his heart and the warmth of his firm body.

You had never slept so well.


End file.
